Railway accident victim loses an arm as cops target do-gooder

Nitasha Natu TNN 

http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2014/02/15&PageLabel=2&EntityId=Ar00200&ViewMode=HTML

    A good Samaritan, Sadiq Shaikh, who tried to help a railway accident victim at Masjid himself became a target of police high-handedness. “As another cop came by, I urged him, too, to do something fast. The second cop turned around and slapped me hard, hurling the choicest of abuses. I was taken aback wondering what had I done wrong to deserve this treatment, when he slapped me again.” 
    Shaikh decided to approach railway authorities to complain. He found a ticket checker’s room and was directed to the station manager’s office. In the meanwhile, he learned that Chavan was being taken to hospital and his arm had to be amputated. “The station manager’s office was shut so I travelled to CST and visited the GRP outpost. The duty officers heard me out and apologized to me. I left but later thought that I should at least write a complaint letter to the senior inspector so that no other samaritan is treated the way I was,” said Shaikh. 
    Around 9pm, Shaikh returned to the CST GRP to submit a complaint letter. This time, he was not greeted with apologies. “An officer shouted at me for wasting the police’s time. He threatened to book me for obstructing a public servant in doing his duty. I was very shaken and left my complaint letter on their desk, before stepping out. I now fear that I will be terrorized further if senior officers conduct an inquiry against the concerned personnel,” he said. 
    Senior inspector Surendra Deshmukh of CST GRP said he was unaware of the incident but would look into it. 
    Meanwhile, Chavan is in critical condition. “He is on the ventilator and is getting an adrenaline drip. His right arm is amputated above the elbow and he has a serious head injury. His condition is serious,” said Dr Jagdish Bhavani, medical superintendent of St George’s Hospital. 
HUMAN TRAGEDY IN THE CITY 1 Sadiq Shaikh (name changed) was waiting at Masjid station around 3pm on Thursday to board a train to his Kurla residence, when he spotted a youth lying on the tracks, covered in blood. Shaikh raised an alarm and as other commuters began to gather, he called a railway cop 2Fellow travellers lifted the injured youth to the space adjacent to the tracks. Shaikh waved to the motorman of an oncoming train to halt. As another cop came along, Shaikh asked him to act soon. The cop turned around and slapped him, hurling abuses. Shaikh was still reeling under the shock when the cop slapped him again 3Shaikh approached the TC room to complain and was directed to the stationmaster’s office, which was shut. In the meantime, the injured youth was moved to a hospital. His right arm was amputated. Shaikh went to CST GRP outpost where duty officers heard him out and apologized 4 At night, Shaikh decided to leave a complaint letter with the senior inspector. This time, a cop at the outpost threatened to book him and shooed him away TIMES VIEW: Railway police’s insensitive approach to a samaritan trying to organize help for an accident victim is deplorable. Police personnel who shirk their responsibilities should be dealt with sternly. In this fast-paced city those who come forward to the aid of someone in distress should be encouraged. This act sends a wrong signal to such samaritans. Many a times, they are treated as suspects, besides being made to wait for hours by cops for formalities. WHAT THE LAW SAYS 
GRP personnel take railway accident victims to the nearest hospital after receiving a memo from the station master’s office. But this does not mean that a bystander cannot rush an accident victim to the hospital. There is no bar on doctors of private hospitals giving emergency care to a victim, irrespective of whether there is a legal criminal dimension to the accident