An ambulance carrying Meherjan Begum, a 50 year old heart patient, was caught up in a traffic jam allegedly caused due to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s convoy on Kona Expressway in the Howrah district.
The patient’s family say that they begged and pleaded to be allowed to pass by, but the police did not relent. When they stated that Begum’s condition was serious, a policeman checked her pulse and opined that she could wait until the minister had passed by. The ambulance was allowed to leave only when a senior officer came to the spot hearing all the commotion.
The police deny that such an incident had taken place.
“Our priority is to let ambulances pass because it is a matter of life and death. Such allegations are hurting,” a policeman at Howrah stated.
In fact, the police were not sure whether the Chief Minister was to arrive my air or road. Security was tightened on both sides of the Expressway anyway.
In the meantime, Derek O’Brien, Trinamul Congress spokesperson said that no convoy was passing by that area and the CM had flown in to Kolkata from Digha by a helicopter. He added that the inconvenience caused to the citizens of Howrah was completely unnecessary.
