Shocking CCTV footage shows two men dragging a woman on a Hyderabad road, but no one helped
On a not-so-empty road with the streetlights on, two men drag a woman along. They are on either side of her, and have gripped her by her arms. Nearby, there are two bikes that are seemingly following the trio. They walk straight ahead with the bikes close behind them, and at a junction - invisible to the viewer - the trio turn right. The two bikes have turned with them, and a third, which came from a distance, turned as well.
Right as the trio disappear from the frame, another man can be seen. He’s running, seemingly worried, and perhaps chasing the men who are dragging the woman.
Everyone else on the street has either not noticed what was happening, or did not care.
This is the CCTV footage of an abduction in Hyderabad’s Amberpet area.
On Monday night, the Amberpet received a complaint from K Srinivas, who was worried and devastated after his wife had been abducted by three men.
K Srinivas and his wife had borrowed Rs 4 lakh from a money lender - M Srinivas - four years ago. But due to financial difficulties, K Srinivas could only return Rs 1 lakh so far. The angry money lender wanted his money back, and has visited the victim’s house multiple times in the past to demand that they repay the loan.But this time, he decided to bring along some friends - Sai Ram, Raju, Venkat, Swaroop, and his own minor son.
“M Srinivas used to visit the victim’s house frequently. However on Monday, he visited the victim’s house along with the other accused. When he did not get his money back, he said that the victim will remain in his custody till her husband pays him the money back,” Inspector Anand Kumar told TNM.
Three arrested for kidnapping woman in #Hyderabad. No one stopped to help when she was being dragged on the road pic.twitter.com/F5hHqBH3Ij
— aditi mallick (@aditi_mallick92) May 17, 2017
The police used CCTV footage of the incident to find the registration number of the car which was used to abduct the victim. While two of the accused were waiting in the car, two of them were dragging the victim along, and two others were riding close to them on bikes.
The police then alerted different toll points in the city, and following a tip-off on Tuesday, they arrested three of the accused - M Srinivas, Sai Ram and Raju - from Tarnaka area in Hyderabad, and rescued the woman. The other three accused are absconding.
"There were people on the road. She said she shouted, but no one came to help," ACP Sudhakar told TNM.
The victim used to iron clothes of residents at Orchid Apartment in DD colony of Amberpet.
“On Monday night, when I was studying, I heard people shouting outside our house. We saw few men dragging her while she was shouting. It happened within few seconds. A watch man from the adjacent apartment tried to help her. But those people pushed him and took her away,” said a 20-year-old staying in a room meant for househelps in the parking area of the apartment.
She also said that no one else bothered to help the screaming woman.
The three men who have been arrested have booked them under sections 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation), 363 (Punishment for kidnapping), 354 (Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) and 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) of IPC.
“The victim sustained some injuries while they dragged her on the road. They also slapped and beat her up,” the inspector added.
Editor's note: At TNM, we understand that it's not always possible for bystanders to intervene directly - but in many situations, it is possible to intervene. Intervention does not necessarily mean standing in the middle of a violent situation, there are many different things that one can do. Read our guide on Dos and Don'ts for good bystanders here.