Pramesh S Jain
In a heart wrenching incident a 34-year-old mechanic died in the early hours of Saturday after suffering a heart attack while riding a scooter,in a tragic incident marked by delayed medical care and the apathy of passersby.
The deceased,Venkataramana,a resident of Balaji Nagar in Ittamadu,Banashankari III Stage,complained of severe chest pain around 3.30 am,following which his wife Roopa K rushed him on their scooter to a nearby private hospital at Katriguppe.
However,they were allegedly turned away after being told that no doctor was available.
Hoping for urgent treatment,the couple then headed towards another hospital.Around 4.21 am near Kadirenahalli bridge,Venkataramana clutched his chest again,causing the scooter to wobble and both of them to fall onto the road.
While Roopa repeatedly waved at passing vehicles and pleaded for help,no motorist stopped,police said.
Venkataramana lay on the road gasping for breath as precious minutes slipped by.A pedestrian eventually stopped and stayed with them until his sister arrived and attempted to flag down vehicles.
Nearly seven minutes later,a car finally halted and helped rush Venkataramana to the hospital,where doctors declared him brought dead.His sister attempted CPR before shifting him to the hospital.
The entire sequence including Roopa’s desperate pleas and the indifference of passersby was captured on a nearby CCTV camera.
The Banashankari traffic police have registered a case and conducted a postmortem.The body was later handed over to the family.
Venkataramana is survived by his mother,wife,and two children.He worked at his sister’s automobile shop.The family has reportedly not lodged a complaint against the hospitals,stating that they have already lost their brother.
