Kerala: Covid patient raped by ambulance driver on way to hospital

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Police said that before dropping her off, the driver apologised to her and told her not to speak about the incident. Police said the woman recorded the conversation and informed the hospital staff, leading to the driver’s arrest.

The SP said the condition of the woman is stable.

Health department officials said if there is more than one patient from a particular locality, they usually arrange for them to be picked up together and shifted to hospital.

“The driver’s chamber is partitioned and no other staff or nurse accompanies the driver while ferrying patients to hospital. This is to limit the exposure of health workers to infected persons. In rare cases, if the patient is serious, we send a nurse. In this case, both patients were stable,’’ said the official.

As the incident triggered outrage from political parties and civil society, Kerala Health Minister K K Shailaja said, “It is a shocking incident. The GVK Emergency Management and Research Institute, which operates the ambulance service, was asked to take action.’’

The Kerala Human Rights Commission and Kerala Women’s Commission have sought an action-taken report from the police. Women’s panel chairperson and CPI(M) leader M C Josephine said people with criminal record should not have been put on Covid duty. The incident, she said, shows that women patients require special protection while being taken to hospital.

The Opposition said the government should reveal why a person with criminal background was put on Covid duty.

In a statement, GVK EMRI said the driver has been removed from service and a police complaint filed against him. “The GPS of the ambulance has been handed over to police… So far, 108 ambulance services have completed 1.50 lakh trips as part of Covid operations. The accused driver, Noufal, had not obtained a police clearance certificate while joining duty. He had submitted a written undertaking that he would soon obtain a clearance certificate, based on which he was hired… All drivers have now been asked to submit clearance certificates against the backdrop of this incident,’’ it said.

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