Jajpur: The driver of a private ambulance has been arrested in Odisha’s Jajpur district for trying to ferry 16 migrant workers to West Bengal amid the ongoing lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic.
The accused driver has been identified as Jitendra Jena, a resident of Anugul in the state.
Jena allegedly took Rs 43,000 from the migrant workers to ferry them from Cuttack to Murshidabad in West Bengal. He started the journey on March 31st night.
The incident came to fore on Tuesday night when Jena took the workers to Dharmasala hospital after the latter sustained minor injuries following the very ambulance met a road accident on NH 16 near Rathia chhak in Jajpur district.
The hospital authority alerted the local police, following which the private-run ambulance was seized and the driver was arrested.
Later, the local administration sent 12 migrant workers to the temporary camp at Jaraka School, established by the state govt considering the lockdown, and four others to Cuttack.
The State government has set up 336 camps for migrant workers ensuring them food and accommodation across the state in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown.
Kalinga AI