Indus Valley Times

By Nalini Sahu

BHUBANESWAR, DEC. 20: It’s a hard to believe scene that has gone viral on social media. A driver of an ambulance has been captured in camera as halting on the way to hospital, buying a bottle of liquor and then sharing the liquid with the patients.

This incredible scene was captured by locals near Sarala Road in Odisha’s Cuttack – Paradip Expressway on Sunday.

The ambulance driver, identified as Dilip Rath, is seen not only making a couple of drinks for the patient, he himself took a few pegs before getting behind the wheels to ferry the patient to Cuttack.

In the video, some locals can be heard asking the ambulance driver why he is giving liquor to the patient lying on the rear seat. The driver, without any second thought, replies that the patient forced him to bring liquor, otherwise he (the patient) won’t allow him to drive peacefully.

The patient who can be seen wrapping an orthopaedic plaster around his leg has his relative accompanying him in the ambulance as well.

When confronted with such shameful act by reporters, the driver said, “Yes, the video is authentic. I was driving the ambulance that day when the patient with a broken leg from Paradip asked me to take him to Cuttack for treatment. It was a private ambulance and a free service. But as soon as I begun the journey, the patient started pestering me to bring some liquor for him. He complained of pain and wanted to drink liquor to feel relaxed.”

“I tried to ignore his demands till Kujang, but he did not allow me to drive with his constant pain induced noises and I was finally forced to bring him liquor near Sarala Road,” he said.

When asked about why did he gulped the liquor, the driver said, “I could not resist the urge and drank a little after he finished his drink. It was a mistake and I promise it will not be repeated again.”