A 70-year-old woman died after police allegedly prevented an ambulance from crossing the border at Talapady in the district.
The elderly woman was identified as Pathunhi from Bantwal. Due to the total lockdown, Pathunhi had stayed back with her granddaughter at Mada in Manjeshwar taluk in Kasaragod district. However, she developed health complications on Saturday.
Pathunhi's family members decided to shift her to Mangaluru as she had availed treatment at a hospital in the city in the past.
As the border roads were closed after surge in COVID-19 cases in Kasargod, the police denied permission for the ambulance to cross the border. After exhausting all attempts, the family members returned to their house in Mada, where Pathunhi breathed her last on Sunday morning.
Ambulance driver Aslam Kunjathuru said that despite requesting the police, they did not allow the ambulance to cross the border and reach a hospital in Mangaluru in the nick of time. A video clip of the police sending back the ambulance went viral on social media.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made reference to the incident in his second letter sent to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday. Both District In-charge Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary and Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, responding to Kerala CM's letter to Modi, asserted that no vehicle from Kerala would be allowed to enter Mangaluru.
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