Sick Baby Dies On Road After Andhra Pradesh Police Blocks Traffic For Minister's Procession

An eight-month-old baby died due to the delay in reaching the hospital as the auto-rickshaw carrying her was stopped allegedly for a procession of Andhra Pradesh's newly-appointed Women and Child Welfare Minister, Usha Sricharan.

The incident occurred near Kalyandurgam in Anantapur district on Friday night.

Police stop auto for minister¡¯s procession

According to Ganesh and Eshwaramma, they were taking their sick child to the Rural Development Trust (RDT) hospital when their auto-rickshaw was stopped by the police for the minister's procession.

Agencies

The couple alleged that a half-an-hour delay in taking the baby to the hospital resulted in her death.

The procession was taken out to welcome Usha Sricharan, who was visiting her constituency for the first time after being inducted into the state Cabinet earlier this week.

The police had stopped traffic for the procession and as a result the auto carrying the child also got stuck.

Dalit group and baby¡¯s parents protest outside hospital

A Dalit group along with the baby's parents and the deceased's body staged a protest outside the hospital demanding action against the police officers responsible for the tragedy, while the district police denied that it had stopped the traffic.

Unsplash

The main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) called it a 'murder' by the minister and police. TDP President and former Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu questioned why a sick baby was not allowed to reach the hospital on time.

"What is the answer you have for the grief-stricken parents of the infant," he asked the government.

TDP General Secretary and Chandrababu Naidu's son, Nara Lokesh, demanded action against the police officers who stopped the traffic and became the cause of the baby's death.

¡°The Minister¡¯s victory procession and the auto in which the girl was being taken was 3.5 km away and also the victory procession started at 5:45 pm, whereas the girl was declared dead at 7:18 pm by the doctor. The police officials had immediately guided the family to an alternative route without any obstructions, the police are investigating from various angles¡± informed Superintendent of Police (SP) Ananthapur, Fakeerappa Kaginelli.

Police say further investigation is on.

The incident has taken place practically two years after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy set an instance when the Chief Minister¡¯s convoy gave way to an ambulance close to Gudapalli in September 2020. The ambulance was carrying a sufferer of an accident who wanted speedy medical consideration.

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