Karnataka government to take over 108 emergency services by February 2026
Bengaluru: The Karnataka Health and Family Welfare Department is set to take full control of the 108 ambulance services by February 2026, with plans to conduct tests to recruit Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) deployed in the ambulances, Deccan Herald reported on Tuesday.
The EMTs, who accompany patients during transit, play a crucial role in providing first-aid and emergency care before hospitalisation. “This is to test their capability, it is important that these technicians are able to provide the necessary services under pressure,” DH quoted Health and Family Welfare Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao as saying.
Rao added that this was the first time in the country such an initiative was being implemented and assured that there would be no compromise in the delivery of emergency medical services.
To strengthen the fleet, the department will procure 175 new ambulances through the Road Safety Authority. The new vehicles are expected to replace older ones, many of which were procured in 2018 and have reported frequent breakdowns.
The upgraded ambulances will be equipped with Mobile Data Terminals (MDTs), a tablet device that assist technicians and drivers in locating patients and the nearest hospitals. The MDTs will also integrate the service with e-Sanjeevini, the national telemedicine platform, allowing doctors to guide EMTs in real time and enabling hospitals to prepare for incoming patients.
“To bring in more efficiency, the ambulance nearby will be allocated to the patient and immediately be taken to the nearest hospital. Currently, we have geo-tagged all the government hospitals in the software, we are awaiting details from Karnataka Private Medical Establishment to geo-tag private hospitals as well,” DH quoted Dr Prabhudev Gowda, Deputy Director, Emergency Management and Research Institute, as saying.
A pilot project of the system in Chamarajanagar district has reportedly shown encouraging results. “We are able to dispatch ambulances without any glitches or delays,” Gowda added.
For fleet management, the department plans to appoint separate agencies in each district to outsource ambulance drivers and ensure transparency.
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
