India shocked as dying woman, child ignored in busy tunnel for 40 minutes
Indians shocked at callous indifference as woman, child lie dying in busy Jaipur tunnel
India embarked on another bout of soul-searching yesterday over a shocking video showing passers-by ignoring a man's pleas after his wife and daughter were killed in a road accident.
CCTV footage surfaced on Monday showing him cradling his son next to his overturned motorbike and calling for help from other motorists as his wife and eight-month-old daughter lay bloodied on the road.
Police say he was ignored for 40 minutes inside a newly built tunnel in the city of Jaipur, 250 kilometres southwest of the capital, with a stream of cars, buses and motorbikes driving past.
"That kind of failure is very, very common on the roads," campaigner Mridul Bhasin, who works for the Muskaan road safety group, told cable channel CNN-IBN. "This is happening day in, day out every minute in our country. People die and we turn a blind eye."
A report in the Mail Today was headlined "Callous India drives past mishap victims", while The Hindu said the incident had "brought to life civilian apathy".
"It's the duty of all people to take such victims to hospital because lives could be saved," Jaipur traffic police chief Lata Manoj said in a televised interview.