Karnataka police have questioned the authenticity of the footage that purportedly showed chief minister Siddaramaiah's convoy blocking an ambulance leading to the death of an ailing woman, this past week.
A video of the alleged incident that went viral on social media is now being scrutinised by authorities for veracity, a day after the chief minister ordered a probe into the incident.
Bizarre incident takes a U-turn
The police are now trying to determine the source of the controversial footage, and sifting through IP addresses to home in on the computer/ device from which the video originated.
"We are also looking at options to question the person shown in the video and verifying whether the person who leaked the footage is in anyway linked to the person shown on screen," said Seemanthkumar Singh, Inspector General of Central Range, under whom the inquiry is being conducted.
On Monday, regional media picked up a Facebook post claiming that the chief minister's convoy had blocked an ambulance on National Highway-75 between 8:30 pm to 8:45 pm, preventing an ailing woman from reaching medical facilities in time and leading to her demise.
Watch: CM's convoy blocks ambulance
The footage showed a person arguing with the police to give way. There was, however, no ambulance or patient visible, nor was an official complaint lodged after the episode.
"The doubts over the death of a female patient due to her ambulance being blocked by the CM's convoy are put to rest, since the ambulance service provider has confirmed that there was no such patient during that time slot. There was only the case of a male patient -- who was being taken for treatment of a fractured hand -- and this vehicle was allowed to pass with no more than a few minutes' delay."
Raghavendra, reportedly the relative of the male patient who was being ferried to the hospital, has also confirmed the police's version.
