Helpless

An argument over who would be served first left a 27-year-old tech graduate from Bengal dead and his fashion designer friend, a resident of CR Park, seriously injured in south Delhi early Monday.

At around 4am, Shailaja Roy, a BTech from Siliguri in West Bengal, and Sidhartha Roy, also 27, drove down to a parantha shop near New Gurdwara on the main Govindpuri road for a quick bite, said the police.

They were in the middle of the meal when two men arrived and forced the vendor to serve them first. “The friends were waiting for second helpings, when the two men, who were drunk, accused them of staring and abused them,“ said a police officer, who didn't wish to be identified.

An argument followed and the two men -identified as Vijay and Chetan Chaudhary -left but came back within minutes. Armed with batons, they attacked the two friends, who collapsed, and fled, said the officer.

The two were rushed to AIIMS, where Shailaja was declared dead. Sidhartha, who works in his sister's boutique, is admitted to Batra Hospital. The police tracked the two after Chaudhary's picture, taken from his admission form, was identified by Sidhartha. Vijay, a resident of Jalandhar, works with a BPO. Chaudhary is unemployed.

Doctors at the hospital told us that Shailaja's life could have been saved, had he been brought to the hospital on time.

THE DECEASED'S FRIEND

Delhiites once again showed a bizarre display of apathy towards the victims of a crime. Bystanders acted like spectators and refused to help while a 27-year-old BTech graduate was being bludgeoned to death and his friend severely beaten.

Shailaja Roy and his friend Sidhartha Roy, 27, were attacked by two men over the serving of parantha at a roadside eatery in south Delhi's Govindpuri.

According to the victims' friends, the two were lying on the road in a pool of blood for more than half-an-hour, but nobody came forward to take them to a hospital.

Even the eatery owner and his helpers closing their shop and fled.

“My friends were critically injured after being attacked by the assailants. While Shailaja was bleeding profusely and had lost consciousness, Sidhartha was screaming for help. He requested passers-by to take them to a hospital or inform the police, but no one helped,“ said a close friend of Sidhartha, who did not wish to be named.

He said that the two were taken to the AIIMS Trauma centre at 5.15am, over an hour after they were attacked by two assailants -Vijay and Chetan Bhagat -who were later arrested by the police.

“Doctors at the hospital told us that Shailaja's life could have been saved, had he been brought to the hospital in time,“ added Sidhartha's friend, who demanded that action be taken against the eatery owner too.

“Not only was the eatery owner running his shop illegally during the odd time, but also ran away without informing the police about the matter,“ the friend said.

Alleging connivance of the beat staff with such road side eatery vendors, local residents said, “These roadside eateries run only during the night and a couple of them even allow people to consume liquor at their shops. Police take no action against them.“