Man attempts to rape semi-conscious patient in moving ambulance

Bengaluru, Feb 1: An autorickshaw driver has been arrested for trying to rape a woman inside an ambulance while she was being taken to the hospital. The 42-year-old woman, a resident of Subramanyapura main road, reported the matter to the doctor at a private hospital, who encouraged her to go to the police. The police have arrested the accused, Siddaraju (32), a resident of Yelachenahalli.

In the early hours of last Tuesday, the woman was being taken in the ambulance to a private hospital in Padmanabhanagar. She had fallen unconscious and the family doctor had advised hospitalisation.

"En route, Siddaraju, who was sitting at the back, allegedly tried to rape her. The couple mistook him for an attendant. Apart from the woman and the accused, there was nobody at the back. Her husband was next to the driver in the front. The patient's cabin and the driver's cabin in the ambulance were separate areas, divided by a metal partition. The woman, who was in a semi-conscious state, tried pushing the accused away, but he was persistent. She tried shouting for help, but neither her husband nor the ambulance driver could hear her," said an officer.
After she was treated as an in-patient and she recovered a little, the woman reported the matter to the doctor.

"The police were called to the hospital so that the woman could file a complaint. The ambulance driver was questioned and the accused arrested from padmanabhanagar on Thursday," the officer added.

The ambulance driver was unaware of the rape attempt till the patient filed the complaint. Siddaraju, a native of Ramanagara, usually rides near hospitals in the city. When he gets tired, he parks the auto near the hospital and sleeps in the vehicle. On the day of the incident, while he was sleeping in the auto, the ambulance driver had reportedly asked him to come and rest inside the ambulance as it was very cold. Within a few minutes, the ambulance driver was assigned the task of picking up the woman.

"While the accused was being arrested, he tried to escape and hurt himself after falling down. He had to be immediately taken to a nearby government hospital for treatment. On Friday, he was taken into custody from the hospital and later remanded in judicial custody," the officer added.

The Banashankari police have registered a case of rape and sexual harassment against the accused.