Posted by: sajhabusaima May 1, 2008
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KOLKATA: The bus stopped midway to get rid of him. The old man got down trembling. He leaned against the shutter of a closed shop, gasping for breath. Passersby saw him but didn't offer help. They informed the Bantra police, who took hours to sort out if the case was under their jurisdiction. The man lay on the road unattended for thr-ee and a half hours until he died.
Kadam Prasad Panth, a Nepali, had come to the city in his youth to work as a security guard. He lived with a fellow guard, Raj Kumar Chhetri, in a school at Kasundia in Howrah. Early on Wed-nesday, Panth took a route 52 bus from Howrah station after returning from Nepal. He was headed to Ghoshpara, his local address. Mid-way, he started feeling dizzy. Trembling and gasping, he stumbled out of the bus at the Gouriya Math stop on Netaji Subhas Road. He didn't even have the strength to carry his luggage, and the conductor and other passengers were in a hurry. The bus moved on with his boxes. It was 6.30 in the morning.
Locals on their way to the bazar, the owner of a book stall a few shops away and the fish vendor on the opposite pavement saw him sitting on his haunches, panting, but continued with their chores. A curious crowd gathered around him and debated his age, occupation and condition. The owner of a drug store a few feet way peeped from inside his shop. But, none of those present offered the gasping man even a glass of water.
Soon enough, the news reached the nearby Bantra police station. When police reached the spot at 8 am, they dispersed the crowd and streamlined the traffic, but didn't touch the old man. Instead, they informed the Shibpur police because the spot where he lay under the blazing sun was not under their jurisdiction.
For two hours, the two police stations slugged it out till word reached SP Niraj Kumar Singh. At his prodding, the Shibpur police reached the spot at 10 am, only to realize that Kadam Prasad was dead. They fished out an identity card and a train ticket from his pockets and took the body to Howrah General Hospital.
The Howrah superintendent of police has ordered an inquiry into the death to find out whether there was any lapse on the part of the policemen.
As for the locals, they said they didn't help fearing harassment. "We thought of taking the old man to a hospital, but were afraid the police might harass us if he died on way," said Kartick Nag, a local.
KOLKATA: The bus stopped midway to get rid of him. The old man got down trembling. He leaned against the shutter of a closed shop, gasping for breath. Passersby saw him but didn't offer help. They informed the Bantra police, who took hours to sort out if the case was under their jurisdiction. The man lay on the road unattended for thr-ee and a half hours until he died.
Kadam Prasad Panth, a Nepali, had come to the city in his youth to work as a security guard. He lived with a fellow guard, Raj Kumar Chhetri, in a school at Kasundia in Howrah. Early on Wed-nesday, Panth took a route 52 bus from Howrah station after returning from Nepal. He was headed to Ghoshpara, his local address. Mid-way, he started feeling dizzy. Trembling and gasping, he stumbled out of the bus at the Gouriya Math stop on Netaji Subhas Road. He didn't even have the strength to carry his luggage, and the conductor and other passengers were in a hurry. The bus moved on with his boxes. It was 6.30 in the morning.
Locals on their way to the bazar, the owner of a book stall a few shops away and the fish vendor on the opposite pavement saw him sitting on his haunches, panting, but continued with their chores. A curious crowd gathered around him and debated his age, occupation and condition. The owner of a drug store a few feet way peeped from inside his shop. But, none of those present offered the gasping man even a glass of water.
Soon enough, the news reached the nearby Bantra police station. When police reached the spot at 8 am, they dispersed the crowd and streamlined the traffic, but didn't touch the old man. Instead, they informed the Shibpur police because the spot where he lay under the blazing sun was not under their jurisdiction.
For two hours, the two police stations slugged it out till word reached SP Niraj Kumar Singh. At his prodding, the Shibpur police reached the spot at 10 am, only to realize that Kadam Prasad was dead. They fished out an identity card and a train ticket from his pockets and took the body to Howrah General Hospital.
The Howrah superintendent of police has ordered an inquiry into the death to find out whether there was any lapse on the part of the policemen.
As for the locals, they said they didn't help fearing harassment. "We thought of taking the old man to a hospital, but were afraid the police might harass us if he died on way," said Kartick Nag, a local.