Bengaluru: 53% Good Samaritans say cops detained them

The police in Bengaluru detained 53.8% of people who played the role of a Good Samaritans for accident victims, says the latest survey.

“All over the country, only 40.8% Good Samaritans surveyed claimed that they were permitted to leave the accident spot by police while 59.2% said they were not permitted to leave,” says a national-level survey conducted by Save Life Foundation, a Delhi-based NGO.

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In Bengaluru, 46.2% of Good Samaritans surveyed claimed that they were allowed to leave after having informed the police about the injured person on the road while the remaining 53.8% claimed that they were not allowed to leave, said the survey.

“The Good Samaritan Law clearly states that the police officer should allow the Good Samaritan to leave after informing the police about an injured person on the road and no further questions should be asked if the Good Samaritan does not desire to be a witness in the matter,” Piyush Tewari, founder and CEO of Save Life Foundation, said here while releasing the survey report.

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The Good Samaritan Law was notified by the Union Ministry of Road Transport on the direction of the Supreme Court in 2016, to give legal protection to those who come forward to help accident victims and encourage the public to help accidents victims by shifting him/her to the hospital or providing immediate medical care at the spot. The survey was conducted in 11 major cities across the country to study its implementation and awareness at the ground level. The survey covered Good Samaritans, hospital administration, lawyers, police and doctors.

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The survey also says, “Only 8% of respondents in Bengaluru said they were aware of the Good Samaritan Law while the national average is 16%. Indore (29%) had the highest number of respondents followed by Jaipur (28%) who were aware of the law. In Chennai, just 7% of people were aware of the law which was the lowest.