BHOPAL: Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has reached out to the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh, seeking forgiveness for two students arrested by the Gwalior Police for allegedly forcibly taking a high court judge’s car to rush a heart-attack patient to hospital.
In his letter, Chouhan has said, “I bring to your attention an incident reported in the newspapers. Vice-chancellor Prof.Ranjit Singh Ji fell critically ill during a train journey from Delhi to Jhansi. Some students accompanying him took him to Gwalior station for urgent medical attention. Outside the station, the students took possession of the judge’s car by snatching the keys, intending to transport the V-C to hospital. Despite their efforts, the V-C couldn’t be saved. Subsequently, police filed cases against two students for theft and robbery.”
“This is a peculiar case where a crime was committed with an altruistic motive. Both students, Himanshu and Sukrit, acted in the interest of humanity and to save a life. Their actions were devoid of any malice or criminal intent. While it is a criminal act, it’s also an act that warrants forgiveness,” Chouhan writes.
The former CM appealed to the high court to take suo motu cognizance and pardon these students by withdrawing the case. “Considering the future of both individuals, I urge for clemency in this case,” he wrote.
Himanshu Shrotri, an ABVP general secretary, and Subrata Kumar were arrested by Gwalior police following an FIR that they commandeered a judge’s car. Both had to be hospitalised following a medical condition on Wednesday.
Ranjit Singh Yadav, 69, had suffered a cardiac arrest while travelling from Delhi to Jhansi on the Dakshin Express on the night of December 10, said sources. His condition deteriorated on reaching Morena, necessitating urgent medical intervention.
Police sources say that after the train reached Gwalior, a group of students, who were traveling in the same coach, tried to help the ailing professor. The students were told that an ambulance was stationed outside Gwalior station, but say they found none, prompting them to seek an alternative solution, said sources.
The students saw a car and decided to use it, not realising that it belonged to a judge. They evicted the driver and security personnel, and took over the wheel, says the complaint. The judge’s aides offered to arrange another car immediately but the youths zoomed off.
Their desperate effort went in vain though they managed to get the professor admitted to Jai Arogya Hospital. He died during treatment a short while later.
Following the incident, the judge’s driver lodged a complaint with the police regarding the alleged carjacking. Railway authorities have since informed the court that there was an ambulance ready at the station.
In his letter, Chouhan has said, “I bring to your attention an incident reported in the newspapers. Vice-chancellor Prof.Ranjit Singh Ji fell critically ill during a train journey from Delhi to Jhansi. Some students accompanying him took him to Gwalior station for urgent medical attention. Outside the station, the students took possession of the judge’s car by snatching the keys, intending to transport the V-C to hospital. Despite their efforts, the V-C couldn’t be saved. Subsequently, police filed cases against two students for theft and robbery.”
“This is a peculiar case where a crime was committed with an altruistic motive. Both students, Himanshu and Sukrit, acted in the interest of humanity and to save a life. Their actions were devoid of any malice or criminal intent. While it is a criminal act, it’s also an act that warrants forgiveness,” Chouhan writes.
The former CM appealed to the high court to take suo motu cognizance and pardon these students by withdrawing the case. “Considering the future of both individuals, I urge for clemency in this case,” he wrote.
Himanshu Shrotri, an ABVP general secretary, and Subrata Kumar were arrested by Gwalior police following an FIR that they commandeered a judge’s car. Both had to be hospitalised following a medical condition on Wednesday.
Ranjit Singh Yadav, 69, had suffered a cardiac arrest while travelling from Delhi to Jhansi on the Dakshin Express on the night of December 10, said sources. His condition deteriorated on reaching Morena, necessitating urgent medical intervention.
Police sources say that after the train reached Gwalior, a group of students, who were traveling in the same coach, tried to help the ailing professor. The students were told that an ambulance was stationed outside Gwalior station, but say they found none, prompting them to seek an alternative solution, said sources.
The students saw a car and decided to use it, not realising that it belonged to a judge. They evicted the driver and security personnel, and took over the wheel, says the complaint. The judge’s aides offered to arrange another car immediately but the youths zoomed off.
Their desperate effort went in vain though they managed to get the professor admitted to Jai Arogya Hospital. He died during treatment a short while later.
Following the incident, the judge’s driver lodged a complaint with the police regarding the alleged carjacking. Railway authorities have since informed the court that there was an ambulance ready at the station.