Ahmedabad:
A case has been registered against an ambulance driver in Surat for allegedly circulating an audio clip where he is heard claiming that coronavirus death toll is bigger than what is disclosed by the government. The driver of 108 ambulance service was identified by the Surat crime branch as just `Ramesh’. He had not been arrested, it said in a release on Tuesday.
The case was registered against him under the Disaster Management Act for making baseless and exaggerated claims despite knowing that they would spread panic, it added. The audio clip which created buzz among local people consists a purported telephonic conversation between Ramesh and his friend.
Ramesh can be heard advising his friend to leave Surat at the earliest, claiming that the coronavirus situation is far more serious than what the government is saying. When his friend expresses disbelief, Ramesh is heard saying that he saw “70 to 80 dead bodies yesterday in the civil hospital while the government declared only three or four deaths”.
“I too want to leave. But I have to stay because my wife is pregnant and can not travel,” he is heard saying further. Surat district has reported over 8,500 coronavirus cases and more than 300 deaths so far as per the government data.
