Cop carries collapsed rly commuter on back but fails to save him

THANE: A 58-year-old man, Ganesh Narvekar, collapsed on a platform at Thane railway station during the evening peak hour on Tuesday, and died before he was taken to a medical centre a few platforms away.
The incident happened around 5.15pm, when the man was waiting for a train at platform 6. A media professional who was present at the spot said that as the man collapsed, some fellow passengers rushed to his help and tried to resuscitate him while a few others alerted the railway staff.

A GRP constable patrolling on platform 3 saw the crowd and reached the spot. As no stretcher was available, constable Vivek Patil, carried the man on his shoulders to the medical centre on platform 2, eyewitnesses said. But it was too late as the man was declared brought dead. The reason for his death will be ascertained only after post mortem, said Dr Rahul Ghule of the Re 1 clinic where the man was taken to.

“Patil saw the man lying motionless and decided to carry him on his shoulders instead of wasting time waiting for railway help to arrive,” said Rajendra Shirtode, senior inspector at Thane railway police. Passengers and activists commended the police action but lamented the delay in the response time by the railway administration. “Around 15-20 minutes after the man collapsed, a police constable arrived and took him on his shoulders. It is surprising railway authorities couldn’t find any stretcher at such a busy station ,” said a commuter.

Rajendra Kumar Verma, station director at Thane, denied the possibility of any delay and said the station authorities responded immediately after being alerted. “There could be a possibility of a porter not being available but our staff reached the spot within 10 minutes but the GRP constable had already taken the victim by then,” he said. The body was sent to the Civil hospital for post mortem while the railway police were in the process of registering a case.