'I was molested in ambulance as my husband fought for his life '

I’ve lost faith in humanity. All I want now is justice. I lost my husband on August 29. He was critical, but illness didn’t kill him. The very worst of humanity did. The driver of our ambulance and his helper – men whose job is to save lives – ripped off his oxygen mask and threw him out. My husband was too fragile to survive this. They did this because I protested. They weren’t interested in driving us to our destination as quickly as possible. They had their hands all over me. When I resisted, they became furious and retaliated by attacking my husband, who lay barely conscious, on the stretcher. medium nocaption113286630Rachna (30, name changed) had hired the ambulance from Indiranagar in Lucknow and was returning to Siddharthnagar 270km away after a nightmare at the hospitals, which could not treat her husband. But something far more horrifying lay in store. medium nocaption113286630My husband fell very ill shortly after Rakshabandhan. He was working in Mumbai. He was diagnosed with a liver ailment and went to doctors there but his condition worsened despite receiving blood transfusions. He came back to Siddharthnagar so that the family could take care of him.But the local hospital could not treat him. It referred us to KGMU trauma centre in Lucknow. It’s a big hospital, but it also has so many patients. They told us they could not admit him as they had no bed available. I hired an ambulance, which took us to a private hospital at Aravali Marg in Indiranagar on August 27 night.Here, Rachna faced what many Indian families do. High treatment costs that decimated her savings in no time. medium nocaption113286630Here, Rachna faced what many Indian families do. High treatment costs that decimated her savings in no time. medium nocaption113286630He was admitted to the hospital for two nights and I was handed a bill of Rs 2 lakh. I didn’t have that kind of money, so my family mortgaged land they had back home to cover the treatment cost. But his condition did not improve. He was no longer able to breathe without an oxygen mask. The treatment cost was so high that I was forced to ask the doctor for a discharge. I called my brother who works in Ahmedabad for help. We decided to go back to Siddharthnagar. But we would need an ambulance. Someone shared a number. The driver (Suraj Tiwari) agreed to take us there.At 6.30pm on August 29, we started from the Indiranagar hospital. My brother had come to Lucknow by then. He and I sat in the back, next to my husband who lay in the stretcher, his face mask connected to an oxygen cylinder. We stopped at a petrol pump and then got on to the highway that would take us to Siddharthnagar. After we reached Ayodhya bypass, the driver requested me to sit in front. He said police may stop the ambulance at night. ‘Mahila ko baithe hue dekhenge to rokenge nahin [when they see a woman sitting, they won’t stop us]’, he told me. I ignored him, but he kept insisting. After some time, I agreed. If it helps us save time on the road, why not. But Suraj Tiwari wasn't in a hurry. He stopped the ambulance next to a dhaba in Ayodhya. medium nocaption113329694 medium nocaption113286630The ambulance driver and his aide wanted to have dinner. But they didn’t just eat. The two also consumed liquor, with a critical patient still halfway from his destination. medium nocaption113286630When Sura Tiwari and his aide returned to the ambulance, they were reeking of alcohol. It made me nervous. But they got in from either side and I was trapped between them. Suraj Tiwari started the vehicle. We were on our way again. It was late and there was little traffic.The two men had inched closer to me and I felt stifled by the stench of alcohol from their breath. And then, I froze. Their hands were on my back. I reflexively moved when I felt contact and pushed them away, but they were much stronger.They became more aggressive when I protested. I struggled to free myself but couldn’t. I shouted but the glass panes muffled my voice from the driver’s cabin. My brother and husband realised I was in trouble. My brother screamed for help and banged on the cabin wall to get the driver to stop. But Suraj Tiwari drove on like a man possessed. They didn’t let go of me. I remained pinned to the seat for the rest of the ride that took more than an hour, hemmed in by two men and fighting off their attempts to grope me. Then as we neared Basti, they became very angry with me. On the main road near Pragati Nursery, Suraj Tiwari stopped the ambulance. The two men got off, yanked open the back door and ripped off my husband’s oxygen mask. My brother tried to stop them but they shoved him aside. They pulled my husband out of the stretcher and threw him on the road, then dragged my brother out, bundled him into the driver’s cabin next to me and locked it. medium nocaption113286630The ambulance driver and the aide took Rs 10,000 Rachna was carrying in her purse, her mangalsutra and the anklets she was wearing before pushing her and her brother out of the ambulance and driving off. medium nocaption113286630 medium nocaption113329703My brother dialled 112 and 108. Police and ambulance reached the spot together. The police took our statement and advised us to get my husband admitted to a hospital, then return to file an FIR. The ambulance from 108 took us to the district hospital in Basti. My husband's condition had deteriorated. The hospital authorities told us to take him to Gorakhpur medical college. But he passed away by the time we reached Gorakhpur. The serious injuries he suffered when he was thrown out of the ambulance and those precious minutes when he was forced to breathe without his oxygen mask had taken him to a point of no return. In two days, our world had collapsed, but I wanted to file the FIR. My husband deserves justice. The cops in Basti heard us out but refused to file an FIR. They told us since the ambulance had started from Lucknow, we should file the case there. medium nocaption113286630Main accused Suraj Tiwari surrendered before the Lucknow district court on September 12 evening. medium nocaption113286630My husband’s last rites were conducted on September 1. We went to Lucknow on September 3 to get the FIR filed but were told this time that the incident had happened in Basti, and the FIR too would be filed there. A distant relative who works in the government got in touch with senior officers and on their directions, the FIR was finally lodged on September 4.Images generated by Sajeev Kumarapuram