Bengaluru: Humanity dies a silent death on city road, cops unmoved

BENGALURU: Humanity died a silent death in the city on Monday noon after a woman’s dead body was allegedly left unattended on the road to be feasted by flies for more than six hours in front of Apoorva Diagnostic Center on CMH Road. But, what shocked everyone was the cold response of the cops who arrived at the spot.

It was a harrowing sight which 23-year-old K F Mohammed Aqib, a resident of Indiranagar, will never forget. The incident has left Aqib numb seeing the cops, making a mockery of humanity. Aqib who along with his colleague was passing by the area around 12:45 pm noticed a woman falling on the pavement and immediately rushed to her aid.

Aqib said, “As I was passing, I saw this lady collapsing and rushed to aid her. She had fallen unconscious and looked very weak. I immediately shouted for help and few nurses from Apoorva Diagnostic Center came rushing. I asked them to get glucose so that we could revive her but by then the woman had succumbed.”

Aqib further said, “When the woman died, we called the police control room and the cops from Indiranagar police station came to the spot around 1.30, after several follow ups.”

“It was only after continuous follow-ups, one "Mr. Ranganath" a police constable, arrived and took charge of the situation and informed the police station about the incident. As soon as he came, he began questioning people asking them who saw the body first? When I told the cop that Sir - I was there and I am ready to help with the investigation but please first take the body to the mortuary as it is lying on road and flies and mosquitoes had begun to feast on it. But, the cop refused blatantly and said – ‘There is a "procedure to follow.”

A shell-shocked Aqib did not leave the spot and waited for the cops to respectfully shift the body. As the clock ticked, the cops to his sheer disappointment didn’t swing into action or even call for an ambulance. But, rather were sitting and chatting with the people and were sipping tea while the woman’s body was lying on the road. It was only around 6 in the evening the ambulance was called in and they took the body from the spot.

When DC contacted the Indiranagar police about the incident, Sub Inspector Manjunath said, “It took us time to verify the background of the deceased and trace her family members. After conducting a check, we finally found that the lady was a resident of BDA apartments following which her daughter who works as a call centre employee was called in to identify the body.” Police also claimed that the shopkeepers were unhelpful in moving the body and the police eventually shifted the body at their own expense. “Yes, it was a terrible thing that we had to leave the body that way, but we had to be sure there was no foul play involved and even the family took a long time to arrive,” Manjunath said.

Society’s cold shoulder

• “When the ambulance arrived, her body was literally covered with flies and insects around her - "Her mistake was just that she died on the road". When I questioned the constable as to why there was a delay, the cop said- “There is a procedure’ and refused to allow us to take the body to a nearby hospital.
• To add insult to the injury, while the body was lying on the road with flies and mosquitoes covering it, the motorists were carelessly parking their vehicles next to the dead body.  
• But, to his utter shock, the Bengaluru City Police replied to his plaint which read, “Dear KF Mohammed Aqib, sorry for the inconvenience, please call or dial 100 for immediate help.”
• ‘Bengaluru City Police department’, if your wife or mother, while they are out for shopping and give up their life on road will you keep the body lying on road with flies and mosquitoes for more than 6 hours and follow the so called procedure?,” questions Aqib.