Hundreds of miles away from Delhi’s Subhash Nagar, where on Wednesday an injured Matibul bled to death lying on the road unattended for over 90 minutes, a family in West Bengal’s Uttar Dinajpur is appalled at the indifference of a “heartless city” their son chose to migrate to for a living.
“News channels have been running the footage all day. I could not watch beyond a point. The sight of my son meeting a tragic end will haunt me forever. Kahan hai dilli ka dil jisne ek aadmi ko sadak pe jaanboojh ke marne ke liye chhod diya (Where is Delhi’s heart? How could they leave him there to die on the road),” Bashiruddin, the father of the victim, told The Hindu over the phone.
Driver arrested
The driver of the tempo that hit Matibul has been arrested. The police identified the accused, Rajesh, a milkman, from the CCTV footage of the incident.
Matibul, the only earning member of the family, migrated to the Capital a decade ago. His sudden death has left his family, including his wife and four children, in the lurch. Of late, Matibul was burdened with an added expenditure of the treatment of his son’s broken arm.“He would send anywhere between Rs. 500 to Rs. 700 every week from his earning as an e-rickshaw driver and a security guard. That money helped us sustain,” said Bashiruddin.
The father had last spoken to Matibul four days before his death. “He was concerned about his son, and had even considered returning home. Now with the news of his death, his wife is inconsolable. This tragedy could have been prevented if even one among the many who passed by had stopped and taken my son to hospital. I did not watch the entire footage but my grandsons told me that people walked past him as if nothing had happened. Is Delhi that heartless?” asked Bashiruddin.
Authorities concerned
The family’s grief and the online outrage over the incident resonated in the response of authorities as well.
“Very inhuman hit-and-run case. A security guard was hit by a tempo and fell on the side of road, driver fled from spot,” said Joint CP (South Western Range) Deependra Pathak.
An analysis of a CCTV footage shows that from the time of the accident (around 5.40 a.m.) till the arrival of the police at the spot, 140 cars, 82 three-wheelers, 181 motorbikes and 45 pedestrians crossed the victim, but did not stop to help him, said the police. A PCR van was also among the vehicles which went past, but the police said it was rushing to attend to a distress call.
