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Indian policeman bleeds to death after bystanders refuse to help - Times Online
From The Times
January 11, 2010
India was outraged yesterday by television footage of a policeman whose leg had been hacked off by a criminal gang lying in the street pleading for help while a crowd including two state ministers looked on without intervening.
R. Vetrivel, 44, a police sub-inspector in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, bled to death after bystanders failed to administer first aid and waited at least 20 minutes before loading him into a vehicle to take him to hospital.
The footage, shot by a freelance reporter, shows Mr Vetrivel writhing on the ground, covered in blood, and reaching out his arms to appeal for help from bystanders some of whom are talking on mobile phones.
It also shows a machete spattered in blood lying on the ground near Mr Vetrivel, a decorated officer who was formerly part of a Special Task Force tackling major crimes.
Tamil Nadus ministers of health and sport were driving in a convoy along the same road, and arrived at the scene a few moments after the attack, but neither even emerged from their vehicles to help.
Indians are accustomed to their politicians and government officials being callous and aloof, but in this case, public outrage has been amplified by the graphic nature of the footage, which was broadcast on all news channels.
Police said they had arrested three people, including a retired police officer, who were suspected of attacking Mr Vetrivel with crude bombs and sickles as he rode his motorcycle through Tirunelveli district in daylight on Thursday.
They said the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity by the gang, which had been trying to kill another police officer because of a dispute between him and his estranged wifes family.
M. R. K. Pannerselvam, Tamil Nadus Health Minister, defended himself and T. P. M. Mohideen Khan, the states Sports Development Minister, saying that the charges against them were totally wrong.
He said that they had immediately called for an ambulance, but as it had to come from some distance away, they then arranged for a police vehicle to take Mr Vetrivel to hospital.
M. Jayaraman, Tirunelvelis District Collector, who was also in the ministerial convoy, said that the two ministers safety had to be taken into account while making arrangements to take Mr Vetrivel to hospital.
But J. Jayalalithaa, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, demanded that the ministers be sacked for not doing more to help the policeman. It is not only the antisocial elements who are responsible for the policemans murder, but also the inhuman attitude of the two ministers, she was quoted as saying.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also condemned the ministers behaviour.
Mr Vetrivel was buried with police honours in his village in Tirunelveli yesterday as hundreds of residents paid respects. Neither of the ministers attended.
From The Times
January 11, 2010
India was outraged yesterday by television footage of a policeman whose leg had been hacked off by a criminal gang lying in the street pleading for help while a crowd including two state ministers looked on without intervening.
R. Vetrivel, 44, a police sub-inspector in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, bled to death after bystanders failed to administer first aid and waited at least 20 minutes before loading him into a vehicle to take him to hospital.
The footage, shot by a freelance reporter, shows Mr Vetrivel writhing on the ground, covered in blood, and reaching out his arms to appeal for help from bystanders some of whom are talking on mobile phones.
It also shows a machete spattered in blood lying on the ground near Mr Vetrivel, a decorated officer who was formerly part of a Special Task Force tackling major crimes.
Tamil Nadus ministers of health and sport were driving in a convoy along the same road, and arrived at the scene a few moments after the attack, but neither even emerged from their vehicles to help.
Indians are accustomed to their politicians and government officials being callous and aloof, but in this case, public outrage has been amplified by the graphic nature of the footage, which was broadcast on all news channels.
Police said they had arrested three people, including a retired police officer, who were suspected of attacking Mr Vetrivel with crude bombs and sickles as he rode his motorcycle through Tirunelveli district in daylight on Thursday.
They said the attack may have been a case of mistaken identity by the gang, which had been trying to kill another police officer because of a dispute between him and his estranged wifes family.
M. R. K. Pannerselvam, Tamil Nadus Health Minister, defended himself and T. P. M. Mohideen Khan, the states Sports Development Minister, saying that the charges against them were totally wrong.
He said that they had immediately called for an ambulance, but as it had to come from some distance away, they then arranged for a police vehicle to take Mr Vetrivel to hospital.
M. Jayaraman, Tirunelvelis District Collector, who was also in the ministerial convoy, said that the two ministers safety had to be taken into account while making arrangements to take Mr Vetrivel to hospital.
But J. Jayalalithaa, a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, demanded that the ministers be sacked for not doing more to help the policeman. It is not only the antisocial elements who are responsible for the policemans murder, but also the inhuman attitude of the two ministers, she was quoted as saying.
The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party also condemned the ministers behaviour.
Mr Vetrivel was buried with police honours in his village in Tirunelveli yesterday as hundreds of residents paid respects. Neither of the ministers attended.
