Looking out for a pregnant commuter landed a 50-year-old man in the ICU in Kerala on Tuesday. Rajan, a daily wage worker was allegedly pushed out of a bus near Kannur for trying to find a seat for a pregnant woman.
According to a report in Manorama, Rajan, who had reportedly consumed liquor, had boarded a bus along with his wife to Kannur GH from Vaaram bus stop. Shortly after, a pregnant woman got in at the Taluk bus stand. The seats on the bus being fully occupied, Rajan requested two women to vacate their seats for the pregnant woman. It was then that the other male passengers questioned Rajan for asking the other women to get up.
Things soon got heated on the bus as passengers raised an uproar over Rajan’s request. Sensing trouble the couple decided to alight at Stadium Corner, much before their stop at Plaza junction, reported Manorama.
As they were alighting, passengers allegedly pushed Rajan out of the bus. A police officer from the Kannur Town station told TNM, “As per the complaint, there was an argument inside the bus which turned violent after Rajan and his wife alighted at the Kannur stadium stop. He was slapped and pushed to the ground and he sustained a head injury from banging his head on the pavement.”
Speaking to TNM, Rajan’s son said, “My mother was asking my dad to hurry and alight from the bus. This is when they pushed him. The first time they pushed he used his hands to break the fall. My mum was crying and asking them to stop, but they kept hitting him. Before he could get up, they pushed him again and this is when he hit his head on the concrete slab.”
Rajan was immediately rushed to the Kannur Madhava Rao Scindia hospital in an autorickshaw with the help of a passerby. From there, he was shifted to AKG Hospital and Koyili Hospital later. At Koyili Hospital, CT scans revealed clots in Rajan’s brain and he was immediately referred to Pariyaram Medical College Hospital, where he is presently receiving treatment in the Neurology ICU.
The Kannur Town police have registered an FIR under sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint) and 323(punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC.
In January, an eight-month pregnant woman, Nashida, died after falling from a moving bus in Kottayam. This after she was forced to stand as no one offered her a seat.