Mumbai man who rescued accident victim says, 'Instead of helping injured man, mob chased driver to beat him up'

Riyasat Liyakat Ali Shaikh, hero auto driver. Pic/Anurag Ahire

A 32-year-old ITI engineer, who works as an auto driver, saved the life of youth severely injured in a hit-and-run in Kandivali on Wednesday. The accused, scared of facing an angry crowd, had fled to a nearby building. But, the public caught him and assaulted him. The auto driver, Riyasat Liyakat Ali Shaikh intervened, rescued the driver from the mob and ferried both him and the injured man to hospital.

According to police sources, the accident occurred in the evening when a cement mixer truck ran over Sandeep Manoj Chandaliya, a 27-year-old sweeper. Chandaliya, the sole breadwinner of his family, resides in the Shivshankar building in Laljipada with his 70-year-old grandmother. The youth had gone to meet a friend near Bhoomi Park in Jankalyan Nagar and was walking back home when the accident occurred. Both his legs have been broken and the pelvis area crushed.

How mishap unfolded

A dumper was parked beside the road, and the cement mixer was turning when Chandaliya got trapped between the dumper and mixer and fell and came under the rear tyres of the latter vehicle.

Riyasat Liyakat Ali Shaikh, who saved the life of 27-year-old sweeper Sandeep Manoj Chandaliya

Shaikh had just dropped off a passenger at Ganesh Nagar and was heading towards Jankalyan Nagar when he heard people shouting, prompting him to stop. Upon looking around, he saw a person trapped under the rear tyre of the mixer. Amid the uproar among truck drivers across the country regarding the new hit-and-run law, the auto driver then proceeded to set an example by saving Chandaliya's life.

"Despite the severity of the situation, the vehicle driver, instead of helping the injured person, fled to avoid the angry mob. Bystanders were focussing on capturing the incident on their phones. Several of them ran to catch hold of the driver instead of helping the man. Instead of saving a life, they sought to take one on the spot," said Shaikh.

He added, "Chandaliya suffered a very serious leg fracture, with the vehicle tyre impacting his pelvic area. I tried to pull him out by gripping both his hands but because he was trapped under the tyre, the process proved challenging. Despite calling for help, bystanders hesitated. After constantly pleading, a couple of individuals eventually stepped forward, and helped free the man and place him in my auto."

According to eyewitnesses, the crowd had started assaulting the truck driver but Shaikh intervened and got them to release him. The rickshaw driver added, "With the help of two people from the crowd, I transported the injured person to Shatabdi Hospital. The doctors initiated immediate treatment."

Shaikh holds a diploma in AC mechanics from St Francis Institute of Technology. Though he was working with a private firm, it was proving challenging to support his family and children with his low wages.

Speaking to mid-day, Shaikh said that he ran a food stall in the evening and drove his auto in the morning to make ends meet. As drivers across the country were on strike on Wednesday and there was no gas cylinder available for his stall, Shaikh decided to ferry passengers until the evening that day.

Shaikh said if people engaged in helping the injured instead of merely filming accidents, many lives could be saved. He said that there should be stringent laws against mobbing during mishaps to ensure motorists help the victim during the golden hour instead of running away.

Police Speak

"We have registered a case under Sections 279, 337 and 338 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 134A of the Motor Vehicles Act and arrested the driver from Shatabdi Hospital. He has been identified as Irfan Ibrahim Ansari," said an officer from Charkop police station.