Abhiraj Singh’s call for help on the police helpline number 100 resulted in an disappointing outcome, after he was told to approach the nearest police station and file a complaint
Abhiraj Singh
26-year-old IT professional, Abhiraj Singh, was on his way to his office at Kalyani Nagar on Wednesday morning, when his motorcycle rammed into an auto rickshaw at around 10.15 am. The auto, which was parked on the left side of the road near Ruby Hospital, on Mangaldas Road, had taken a sudden U-turn, without giving indication, and collided with Singh’s vehicle.
Bad experience: In an injured state, Singh was made to wait at the police station for half an hour, while cops questioned him, and then taken to the nearby hospital
Singh fractured his wrist and sustained injuries to his fingers and right knee. In desperate need for help, he dialled the police helpline number 100 at 10.21 am, only to receive an apathetic response. He was told to visit the nearest police station and file a complaint.
Singh said, “I was riding at a speed of 40 kmph when suddenly the driver of the auto rickshaw took a U-turn. I was unable to control my two-wheeler and dashed into the auto. People gathered to help but no one stopped the rickshaw driver.”
“I immediately called the police helpline number, but the official who answered my call, asked me to locate the nearest police station and lodge a complaint. This was my first time calling the police helpline and I was shocked at their response,” Singh added.
A few pedestrians took him to the nearest Mangaldas Police Station along with the bike. In an injured state, Singh was made to wait at the police station for around 30 minutes, while cops questioned him, and was then rushed to Ruby Hospital by passers-by.
When mid-day visited the police control room, the officials tried to figure out what went wrong as they refused to believe that an injured victim would have been treated in such a way. When the cops got hold of the call recording, they were shocked to hear it.
Jagdish Singh, police sub-inspector in-charge of the control room for call escalation said, “Our duty is to help citizens at all times and that is why we are here to assist those who call for help. It was disappointing to hear the recording of our own staff member who told the injured victim to visit the police station. In case of road accidents, we ensure that a beat marshall reaches the spot within five minutes.
At the same time, we also inform the nearest police station to rescue the victim and take him/her to the nearest hospital. However, in this case something went terribly wrong and it is tough to identify who took the call as there are 10 people receiving calls at the same time.”
The team is currently trying to identify the cop who answered the call.
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