Ambulance Gate Takes New Turn: 4 Cops Suspended, SSP Says Driver Revealed Public Inconvenience

Four Cachar Police personnel have been suspended pending a departmental enquiry after an ambulance was stopped while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s convoy passed through Silchar on Wednesday, September 30.

The suspension order was issued by Cachar Senior Superintendent of Police Partha Pratim Das following the incident during route-lining duty from Chirukandi Point towards Assam Secretariat, Barak Valley, Srikona.

Those suspended are SI Bijoy Goswami, In-charge of Srikona Police Post under Silchar Police Station, SI Sibsankar Das of NH Way Police Post, LNK(UB)/476 Jahurul Islam of Katigorah Police Station and LNK(UB)/976 Kawsar Ahmed Barbhuiya of the Traffic Branch, Silchar.

The development comes hours after a video showed an ambulance waiting as the Chief Minister’s convoy passed through the Ramnagar ISBT area. The video had sparked discussion on social media about the stopping of emergency vehicles during VIP convoy movements.

Cachar SSP Partha Pratim Das had earlier told Barak Bulletin that the ambulance was empty and that the driver had given permission for the convoy to pass. Police had also shared a video statement of the ambulance driver, Pilot Ali Abdul Laskar, in which he said police personnel asked him to proceed but he remained at the spot for around a minute before moving ahead.

However, the matter took a different turn after the SSP said he personally reviewed the incident and spoke to the driver.

“There is a clear instruction from Honourable Chief Minister of Assam that their convoy movement should not cause any inconvenience to people,” Das said.

“When the matter was brought to my notice, I personally had a word with the driver and it became clear that there was some obstruction to services that might have caused public inconvenience,” he added.

The SSP also acknowledged that the ambulance had been using its siren and flashing emergency lights at the time.

He said the initial police response was based on a debrief, but after personally looking into the matter and speaking to the driver, the department decided to take action against the personnel responsible for the traffic duty.

“The four police personnel concerned have been suspended with immediate effect, pending departmental enquiry into the ambulance incident,” Das said.

He added that all personnel deployed for the convoy had been clearly instructed to prevent inconvenience to the public. Additional SPs and DySPs have also been warned to ensure strict supervision during such duties.

The suspension order states that the four personnel will report immediately to Police Reserve, Silchar, deposit their government kits and attend daily roll call. They will not be allowed to leave headquarters without permission. The suspension will remain in force until further orders.

The development also clarifies why departmental action followed despite the earlier police explanation that the ambulance was empty and the driver had permitted the convoy to pass.

The issue under enquiry is now the conduct of the traffic-duty personnel and whether their handling of the convoy caused obstruction to an ambulance that was displaying emergency lights and using its siren.

The suspension is pending departmental enquiry, and the order does not by itself establish final responsibility or misconduct by the suspended personnel.