After 10-year-old daughter of a patient was raped by a 108-ambulance driver in Kanker a fortnight ago, it has been made mandatory for the on-board ambulance staff to get their police verification done.
It may be noted that safety of female patients is in a questionable state as, if not accompanied by friends or family member, the patient is alone in the ambulance with its two male staff members. Until the Kanker incident, only educational qualifications were the eligibility criteria for appointment of the ambulance staff of emergency service 108 Sanjeevani Express.
“After the reports of minor’s rape in Kanker, we have made it mandatory for the pilot and technician of the ambulance to get their police verification and submit their documents at the earliest,” said State operations head of 108 services Suresh Camil on Wednesday. All the existing drivers and technicians must themselves get their police verification and submit the documents with the head office within a month. From now on, the aforesaid document will be sought for all future recruitments as a security measure.
On December 23, a driver of the Sanjeevani 108 Ambulance Service in Kanker district was booked for allegedly raping a 10-year-old daughter of patient. The incident when the girl’s mother, who was suffering from an acute stomach ache, called for 108 Express. The driver Kiran Kumar took the woman to the Kanker district hospital.
However, he returned to the victim’s house where her daughter was alone. He told her that her mother was serious and needed to be shifted to another hospital. When the girl agreed to go with him, he took her in the ambulance and allegedly raped her about four km away from her residence. Kumar also attempted to immolate himself after the incident.