UP: Ambulance charges Rs 17,500 to transport BJP leader's body; amount refunded

Mathura (UP), Dec 18 (UP) An ambulance driver allegedly charged Rs 17,500 from the family of BJP leader Akhilendra Pratap Yadav, who was among the 19 people killed in a road accident on the Yamuna Expressway on Tuesday, to transport his body to Prayagraj, officials said on Thursday.

Following a complaint by the family, the Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) intervened and ensured that the amount was refunded in full, they said.

Yadav, a resident of Prayagraj and a close associate of Uttar Pradesh Finance Minister Suresh Khanna, had travelled on Monday to Prayagraj to condole the death at the residence of Cabinet Minister Girish Chandra Yadav.

From there, he left for Delhi to congratulate Nitin Navin on being elected as the BJP’s national working president.

On Tuesday morning, Yadav’s car met with an accident on the Yamuna Expressway amid dense fog after colliding with another vehicle.

While he had stepped out to assess the condition of the car, a bus coming from behind rammed into it, crushing him between his vehicle and the bus and killing him on the spot, officials said.

Authorities sent his body, along with those of other victims, to the mortuary for post-mortem examination.

According to the complaint lodged by the family, a private ambulance, which was arranged to transport Yadav’s body, demanded Rs 17,500 as fare from Mathura to Prayagraj even before setting off the journey.

With no alternative available at the time, the family transferred Rs 5,000 immediately to the driver’s mobile phone, while the remaining amount was paid after reaching home, the complaint said.

When the matter came to the notice of Additional District Magistrate Dr Pankaj Kumar Verma on Wednesday, he assured the family of the recovery of the amount.

The complete amount was refunded on Thursday, officials said.

Confirming the incident, Dr Verma told PTI that the money collected from the deceased leader’s family has been returned in full. PTI COR ABN ABN SHS SHS