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Four men walk into trauma ward and kill rival before fleeing in presence of security guards, cops
Despite the presence of two security guards and policemen, assailants barged into the trauma centre of the civic body-run L G Hospital on Wednesday night and stabbed to death a man who was said to be from their rival gang.
Two persons, who were present on the scene and tried to intervene, were also injured. This is the same hospital that was hit by the 2006 serial blasts in Ahmedabad.
The victim, Balwant Verma (22), was a resident of Hanuman Nagar in Amraiwadi and was believed to be a member of a gang involved in diesel thefts. The assailants are said to be from the rival gang, also involved in diesel thefts.
“Assailants were armed with knives and entered the room on the pretext of visiting the patient. The doctor’s room is adjacent to the trauma ward. The doctors told us that the incident happened inside the trauma ward and the assailants immediately fled the spot,” said a police officer.
According to Gomtipur police, Verma had earlier received injuries during a scuffle and he got himself admitted in the L G Hospital claiming he had met with an accident. He reportedly said his family would come for completing the medical procedures on Wednesday. Within an hour, he was shifted to the trauma ward, police said.
On Wednesday late night, the four assailants, walked into the trauma ward and began stabbing Verma, police said. A bystander, Abdul Latif Sheikh, and a 16-year-old boy who tried to intervene were also attacked by the gang.
Before the policemen could reach the ward, the assailants managed to flee.
Police said they have identified the gang involved in the murder and three teams have been formed to hunt down the culprits. “We are tracking their location through their cellphones. They were at Saraspur after which they have switched off their phones,” DCP (Zone VI) Sachin Badshah said.
“The policemen present at the hospital are supposed to help in accident cases or emergencies. This incident happened very quickly and eye-witnesses couldn’t react immediately to alert them,” Badshah said.
No lessons learnt from blast in the past When a bomb went off at the L G Hospital’s intensive care unit during the July 2008 blasts in the city, the AMC had announced that all civic hospitals would be equipped with CCTV cameras. That the proposal was given a quiet burial came to light only on the night of April 13 when none of the gadgets were found in place.
Hospital superintendent Dr R G Surela would not comment while assistant manager Pranav Barot is on leave. Kiran Shah, who is in-charge in the absence of Barot, diverted questions to the superintendent’s office. Assistant security officer S A Tiwari is on leave for social engagement. However, he named the security agency, Vijay Security, which was given the charge of security L G Hospital.
Chief Fire Officer M F Dastoor said the tender for CCTV cameras was still being formalised while door-frame metal detector was yet to be installed. The guards currently have hand-held metal detectors. Dastoor said a change of guard was on the cards.
Despite the presence of two security guards and policemen, assailants barged into the trauma centre of the civic body-run L G Hospital on Wednesday night and stabbed to death a man who was said to be from their rival gang.
Two persons, who were present on the scene and tried to intervene, were also injured. This is the same hospital that was hit by the 2006 serial blasts in Ahmedabad.
The victim, Balwant Verma (22), was a resident of Hanuman Nagar in Amraiwadi and was believed to be a member of a gang involved in diesel thefts. The assailants are said to be from the rival gang, also involved in diesel thefts.
“Assailants were armed with knives and entered the room on the pretext of visiting the patient. The doctor’s room is adjacent to the trauma ward. The doctors told us that the incident happened inside the trauma ward and the assailants immediately fled the spot,” said a police officer.
According to Gomtipur police, Verma had earlier received injuries during a scuffle and he got himself admitted in the L G Hospital claiming he had met with an accident. He reportedly said his family would come for completing the medical procedures on Wednesday. Within an hour, he was shifted to the trauma ward, police said.
On Wednesday late night, the four assailants, walked into the trauma ward and began stabbing Verma, police said. A bystander, Abdul Latif Sheikh, and a 16-year-old boy who tried to intervene were also attacked by the gang.
Before the policemen could reach the ward, the assailants managed to flee.
Police said they have identified the gang involved in the murder and three teams have been formed to hunt down the culprits. “We are tracking their location through their cellphones. They were at Saraspur after which they have switched off their phones,” DCP (Zone VI) Sachin Badshah said.
“The policemen present at the hospital are supposed to help in accident cases or emergencies. This incident happened very quickly and eye-witnesses couldn’t react immediately to alert them,” Badshah said.
No lessons learnt from blast in the past When a bomb went off at the L G Hospital’s intensive care unit during the July 2008 blasts in the city, the AMC had announced that all civic hospitals would be equipped with CCTV cameras. That the proposal was given a quiet burial came to light only on the night of April 13 when none of the gadgets were found in place.
Hospital superintendent Dr R G Surela would not comment while assistant manager Pranav Barot is on leave. Kiran Shah, who is in-charge in the absence of Barot, diverted questions to the superintendent’s office. Assistant security officer S A Tiwari is on leave for social engagement. However, he named the security agency, Vijay Security, which was given the charge of security L G Hospital.
Chief Fire Officer M F Dastoor said the tender for CCTV cameras was still being formalised while door-frame metal detector was yet to be installed. The guards currently have hand-held metal detectors. Dastoor said a change of guard was on the cards.
