In an inhuman act, the gram panchayat staff of I. Bhimavaram village reportedly shifted a patient to a hospital in a garbage vehicle.
According to sources, the patient, Satish Kumar of Chilkur village in the mandal, had been working as a daily wager in Guntur district for the past few years. After losing work due to COVID-19 lockdown, he returned to his village but could not find his family. He had been staying in the Akiveedu bus station for the last three days and was reportedly ill.
Alerted by local people, the gram panchayat staff reportedly shifted Satish to the local Primary Health Centre (PHC) in a garbage shifting auto trolley on Monday. With the videos and photos of the incident going viral, officials swung into action.
“We tried to shift the patient in an ambulance, but the vehicle was taking too long to come. As the patient’s condition was worsening, we called the local panchayat staff,” said a villager.
When contacted, the Akiveedu MRO office staff said the patient was mentally unsound and was not cooperating for treatment and the staff shifted him to a hospital in the auto trolley.
However, the patient escaped from the hospital without taking treatment, revenue officials said.
Narsapuram Sub-Collector K.S. Viswanathan expressed concern over the inhuman behaviour of the panchayat employees towards a homeless patient.
“I saw the video clippings. An inquiry has been ordered into the inhuman act and action would be taken against the staff based on the report,” the Sub-Collector told The Hindu.
