Man falls from third floor, people watch and move on

A 46-year-old man who fell off of a building in Kochi was left unattended on the road by passers-by for at least 15 minutes till help finally arrived, causing familiar outrage on public apathy once again.

Saji Anto, a native of Thrissur, is admitted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital and his condition is reported as stable.

The incident which happened at the busy Padma Junction in Kochi at about 6.30 pm on Saturday did come with a comforting touch, with a woman lawyer - later identified as Ranjini Ramanand - managing to get a passing vehicle to, finally, stop and shift the seriously injured man to a local hospital.

Saji is learnt to have fallen off the third floor of the lodge he was staying in. CCTV footage shows him fall on the footpath; people react with shock, many appear passive and none show intent to act. In the footage, Ranjini is seen asking passers-by to help in shifting the man to a hospital.

Ranjini was with her daughter when she saw people gathering around the injured man. She said the man was bleeding and had sustained serious injuries but she could see that he was alive. After several pleas, she found some help but an attempt to transport the unconscious man in an auto-rickshaw failed. "I finally managed to get a man and his wife to take him to the hospital in their car," Ranjini told a television channel on Monday. Saji is reported to have fainted and fallen through an open window.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the incident should make Keralites think and lauded Ranjini's efforts. "Many are reluctant to help because they fear they could be dragged into police cases. But people who take accident victims to hospitals do have legal cover," he said.

Actor Jayasurya said he was extremely saddened by the apathy. In a Facebook live video, he said it was unfortunate that none who witnessed the incident took an effort to take the injured man to the hospital.