Bangalore, May 13 (DC): Shimoga judicial magistrate first class (JMFC) Ravikanth on Thursday permitted the moving of former minister Haratalu Halappa to Bengaluru for treatment. Mr Halappa has been remanded to judicial custody till May 24 after he surrendered before the CID sleuths investigating the case of rape filed against him.
However, it was not clear till late Thursday evening as to when he would be shifted to Bengaluru. There were reports that he would be shifted in the early hours of Friday to avoid the stress of a night journey. Mr Halappa is reportedly suffering from multi-organ problems and is undergoing treatment at the ICCU of McGann General Hospital in Shimoga.
Soon after the orders were passed by the JMFC for shifting Halappa to Bengaluru, the jail authorities tried to get the District Armed Reserve (DAR) police to arrange an escort for him. According to DAR sources, the chances of shifting Halappa to Bengaluru in the night appear to be slim going by the rules which do not permit the shifting of a patient after sunset. Sources said that a patient cannot be shifted in the routine manner in the night unless he or she is very serious. The DAR can provide an escort only if there is recommendation by the District Health Officer that the patient is very serious and needs to be shifted immediately.
Besides, the health department should arrange for the doctors or surgeons with all the necessary emergency facilities provided in the ambulance while shifting the patient.
The DAR sources said that it was 7 pm when DAR officials received the requisition from the jail authorities for providing the escort to Halappa for shifting him to Bengaluru. As it was too late for them to take any action in the matter, they declined to provide the escort by Friday.
According to another source, Halappa could not be considered a serious patient in view of a steady improvement in his clinical parameters.