A woman in Lucknow, India, has accused an ambulance driver and his assistant of sexually assaulting her while she was transporting her terminally ill husband home. The accused allegedly turned off her husband's oxygen support after he passed away. Police have arrested the assistant while the driver remains at large.
The helper of a private ambulance, along with the driver, allegedly sexually assaulted a woman transporting her terminally ill husband home in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, the police said on Thursday (September 5). They further said that the driver is still at large while the assistant was apprehended. The authorities claim that the accused also turned off her husband's oxygen support after he passed away.
Efforts are underway to locate and arrest the ambulance driver, they added. "The accused helper of the ambulance, Rishabh, has been arrested. Our teams are trying to arrest the accused driver," Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), Lucknow, Jitendra Kumar Dubey said.
The woman's spouse was receiving medical care at a Lucknow private hospital. Due to financial constraints, she chose to accept his discharge and drove him home in a private ambulance on August 29. According to the authorities, the driver and assistant reportedly abused the lady on the way back.
The lady said that the ambulance driver halted the car in the Basti area, some 150 km from their destination, and pushed her, her brother, and her husband out of it after she refused to comply with their demands. The woman contacted the local police, who arranged for another ambulance to transport her husband to Gorakhpur Medical College, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
In addition to the assault, the men stole Rs 10,000 from her purse, as well as her anklets, mangalsutra, Aadhaar card, and medical records.
The woman returned to Lucknow and filed a police complaint at Ghazipur Police Station against the driver on Wednesday. The case has sparked outrage, with many calling for swift justice and increased safety measures for vulnerable individuals in similar situations.