Locals first robbed, then helped victims

br> The Mendhwan accident, which claimed 14 lives, including that of the driver of the container which rammed into an oncoming luxury bus on Wednesday, has brought to light a chilling demonstration of greed taking precedence over life.

The locals who came forward to help the accident victims did so not for nothing. They first rummaged through their baggages, took all valuables and then helped the victims.

This heart-rending story has been told to the police by none other than one of the two drivers of the ill-fated bus (GJ.3.AW.9914) who miraculously survived the big bang with minor injuries.

The fatal collision took place on the Mendhwan Khind bridge on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway when Lalaji Amarsingh Rajput, 28, was at the wheel and Mahesh Ramanlal Mina, 35, the additional driver, was sitting next to him.

Both of them visited the Kasa police station on Thursday to give their statement.

In his statement, Mina said that after the accident, he fell out of the bus cabin and saw around 10 locals reaching the spot.

Instead of picking dead bodies and rescuing the injured, they boarded the bus and took away bags. They not only removed valuables from the bags, but also snatched away jewellery from the dead and the injured, Mina said, adding that they came back to help the hapless passengers only after hiding the booty.

Assistant police inspector of Kasa police station Bharat Choudhary said, “We were informed about the theft at the accident spot, but at that very moment our primary responsibility was to save lives. We could only recover those items which were found on the locals. Some handbags are missing and we will look into the matter.”

Friday 31 May 2013