Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma apologized after an ambulance carrying a patient was halted to allow his convoy to pass in Silchar, and four police officers were suspended for negligence.
Cachar Sub‑Police‑Station (SP) Partha Protim Das issued an order suspending Sub‑Inspector Bijoy Goswami, SI Sibsankar Das, Lance Naik Jahurul Islam and Lance Naik Kawser Ahmed Barbhuiya, all stationed at multiple outposts between Chirukandi and the Barak Valley Secretariat, for failing to clear the road promptly. The suspended officers must report to the Police Reserve at Silchar, submit their government‑issued kits and attend daily roll‑calls until further notice, with their substantive allowances preserved under established rules.
Sarma said the incident violated his own directives that a Chief Minister’s convoy must never supersede a life in need of urgent care, adding that the lapse was "deeply troubling". An ambulance driver, who earlier claimed the stoppage lasted only a few minutes, recounted that police initially denied the vehicle carried a patient, a statement later contradicted by the patient’s family.
The event unfolded while Sarma campaigned for the October 3 municipal elections in Silchar, a city that has long been a political battleground in the Barak Valley. An inquiry will be convened by the state government to investigate why the convoy’s priorities overrode the ambulance’s emergency, and to determine whether policy adjustments are needed.