FIR lodged against Saurabh Bharadwaj, 3 AAP MLAs for ruckus over bus marshal issue
New Delhi, Oct 6: Delhi Police on Sunday registered a case against AAP minister Saurabh Bharadwaj and three party MLAs for the ruckus at the Secretariat and Lt Governor's House over the issue of reinstatement of bus marshals.
According to the FIR registered based on a complaint by Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta, the AAP MLAs have been charged under in Civil Lines police station under sections 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 126(2) (wrongful restraint), and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Delhi Police has not released any statement on the matter so far.
On Saturday, Bharadwaj and other AAP leaders were seen laying at the feet of Gupta, requesting him to accompany them to LG VK Saxena's House to get his approval on the cabinet note on bus marshals.
Gupta has alleged that AAP MLAs Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kuldeep Kumar, Jarnail Singh and Rohit Mahroliya indulged in indecent behaviour that led to a scuffle.
He said this happened after the BJP MLAs submitted a memorandum on the marshals' issue to Delhi Chief Minister Atishi.
When they were leaving the meeting, AAP MLAs present at the Secretariat complex misbehaved and engaged in a scuffle, Gupta said.
On Saturday, AAP and BJP MLAs levelled allegations against each other on the issue of reinstating bus marshals.
Over 10,000 civil defence volunteers deployed as marshals in public transport buses were removed last year after an objection was raised by the directorate of civil defence that they were meant for disaster management duties.
While Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, accompanied by BJP MLAs, met LG VK Saxena and submitted a cabinet note to reinstate the bus marshals, it turned out to be a brief moment of thaw as AAP leaders soon accused the BJP of "betrayal" on the issue.
In a dramatic sequence of events, Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj laid at BJP MLA Vijender Gupta's feet, requesting him to accompany AAP leaders to the LG's residence to seek Saxena's approval on the reinstatement of the bus marshals, while the chief minister left her car and sat in the BJP leader's car.
After meeting the LG, Atishi lashed out at the BJP, saying the party has "betrayed" the bus marshals.
"Firstly, the BJP MLAs were not ready to come to meet the LG, but we managed to get them with us somehow. But even after coming here, they have not asked the LG to sign the cabinet note even a single time," she said.
This is a complete betrayal by the BJP, and now the onus is on them to reinstate the bus marshals, Atishi added.
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Woman in labour dies while being transported in ambulance lacking oxygen support
Palghar (PTI): A 26-year-old pregnant woman from Maharashtra's Palghar district died while being taken to hospital in an ambulance which was not equipped with oxygen and other necessary facilities, authorities said on Wednesday.
Palghar's Civil Surgeon Dr Ramdas Marad said the health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region.
The woman, who was in labour pain, was brought to a rural hospital here in a critical state on Tuesday evening.
"If she had come earlier, we could have saved her," the health official said.
Palghar Lok Sabha member Dr Hemant Savara said the health department should take necessary action into the matter and ambulance services should have adequate facilities.
Pinki Dongarkar, resident of Sarni village, went into labour on Tuesday evening.
Her family immediately rushed her to Kasa rural hospital, but due to the critical nature of her condition, the staff there referred her to neighbouring Silvassa city (in the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu) for further medical attention.
However, despite frantic attempts by her family to secure an ambulance equipped with oxygen and necessary medical facilities through the '108' emergency service, their requests went unanswered, a health official said.
They were eventually provided with a regular ambulance by the Kasa rural hospital.
While en route to Silvassa, the woman succumbed to complications and the foetus also did not survive, health officials confirmed.
Dr Marad said the woman was brought to the Kasa rural hospital in a critical state.
According to him, the woman suffered from a condition called Intrauterine Fetal Death (IUFD), where the foetus died in the womb. The exact time of the foetal death could not be determined.
Upon arrival at the hospital, the woman was semi-conscious and showed signs of severe infection.
On issues with the 108 emergency ambulance services, which are privately operated, Dr Marad said the ambulance might have been unavailable due to high demand.
The health department has repeatedly raised concerns with authorities about the lack of specialised ambulances in the region, he said.
Talking to PTI, Palghar BJP MP Savara said, "This is a very sad incident. The health department should take necessary action in this connection. Also, such an incident should not happen in future for this reason."
"The ambulance services should have adequate oxygen and cardiac support facilities. Also, a doctor is required to accompany the patient. I will follow it up with the government," he said.
CPI (M) leader Vinod Nikole, the newly-elected assembly member from Dahanu in Palghar, said he had raised the issue in the House during his last term, but no action was taken.
He criticised the government over "indifference" towards improving healthcare facilities, particularly in tribal areas, and accused the state of prioritising other programmes, such as the Ladki Bahin Yojana, over the urgent needs of healthcare in rural regions.
