Kurnool: 3 held for cheating kin of dead patient

Kurnool: Police arrested three persons for cheating the wife of a patient who died in Kurnool Government Hospital (KGH), on Thursday.

Giving details of the arrest in a press conference at the police station, III Town CI M Tabrez said Katam Jayaraju, a private ambulance owner, Chinna Tirupal and Jaggula Venkata Giri both working as ward boys at KGH collected Rs 91,000 from the wife of a person who died in the hospital by lying that he succumbed to Covid-19. One Sainath Rao, a resident of C Camp in Kurnool town, developed some health problems on August 14. His wife Neeraja Bai shifted him to Kurnool government general hospital in a private ambulance.

Sainath Rao succumbed to disease after reaching the hospital. To cash in on the tragedy, ambulance driver Jayaraju told Sainath's wife that he had died of coronavirus and the burial needs to be done immediately. Along with two ward boys Tirupal and Venkata Giri, he said they would perform the last rites on the payment of Rs 91,000.

Neeraja Bai informed the same to his son Kiran at Melbourne in Australia. He immediately transferred Rs 50,000 and Neeraja Bai gave Rs 41,000 in cash the trio. The ambulance driver taking the help of ward boys performed the last rites. But the Out Patient (OP) slip issued by the doctor at casualty later revealed the fact that Sainath Rao did not die due to coronavirus.

On knowing this, one of the deceased relatives, C Ramanjaneyulu, lodged a complaint with the III Town police on August 22. The police after registering the case under relevant sections, arrested the three at the government hospital on Thursday, said the CI Tabrez.

The ambulance and Rs 69,000 cash was seized from their possession. The three accused would be sent in remand, the CI said.