Coimbatore:
In broad daylight, at a traffic intersection on a busy Coimbatore road, four men hit a man with a two-wheeler, threw him to the ground and then repeatedly kicked him and struck him with stones, smashing his head. He died.
The traffic lights were red and scores of people on two-wheelers and other vehicles stood by and watched. Then, when the lights turned green, those in a hurry even drove away. No one came forward to help.
All this right next to a police station. So close, in fact, that a police Close Circuit TV (CCTV) camera captured the entire incident.
Coimbatore police say they reached the spot within four minutes and took the victim, identified as a painter, Santosh, to hospital. But he was declared brought dead.
The incident was the result of a drunken brawl that began in a bar, the police said. The four men, a group of friends, then followed Santosh out and attacked him. They were arrested within 45 minutes based on the CCTV footage, the police said.
Santosh's wife, Saroja is disconsolate. "People don't have a conscience. They could have saved my husband. They and the government should answer for this," she said.