Why arent we good Samaritians ?

MUMBAI, AUGUST 13:
A Manipuri girl’s throat was slit allegedly by an insane man at the Gateway of India on Saturday evening. Tourist Nga Kuimi Raleng (23) died on the spot.
The crowd there watched in silence as the chopper-wielding killer attacked the tourist’s friend Leisha Choan (20).
The killer, Junaid Patel (25), was nabbed on the spot. He had earlier in the day attacked his father and a neighbour in Jogeshwari with the same chopper, police said.

As Raleng lay dying at the Gateway,
no one came forward to help her and the bleeding Choan for 15 minutes until a young man named Salil burst out of the crowd and bundled Choan into a taxi and took her to hospital.

Raleng gave a few gasps and then lay still, witnesses said.
A police van took her to G T Hospital, Crawford Market, where she was declared dead on arrival.
Choan—stabbed on her forehead and right arm—is in a critical condition. Her foto (survivor) appears above

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‘‘The motive of the attacker is not yet known. The man looks mentally unstable,’’ said Additional Commissioner of Police SP Yadav.
A police source said Patel has been changing and retracting his statements every 15 minutes.

Around 5.40 pm the women were getting a photograph taken with the Gateway as background.
Shiv Kumar Yadav, a car-park attendant who was just 20 feet away, recounted: ‘‘This person came from behind.
He looked calm and composed.
He pulled one of the girls by the hair from behind and slit her throat.’’

Sanjay Vishwakarma, a vendor said the two women had crossed the road from the Taj. ‘‘They fed the pigeons and walked towards the Gateway,’’ he said.
‘‘The next thing I heard is a loud shriek. I saw one of them fall with blood all over her. A person standing behind her was attacking the other girl.’’

The Indian Express photographer Ganesh Shirsekar was at The Taj and had seen Raleng and heard her talk over a cell-phone in the lobby at 5.40 pm.

‘‘She was speaking English. She looked as if she was waiting for someone,’’ said Shirsekar.

‘‘I then left the lobby. When I came out after five minutes, I saw the girl lying on the ground with blood all over her.’’

Meanwhile, security has been tightened at many places in Imphal where non-Manipuris were staying following the girl’s murder, sources said.

Why don’t we help?
The monsoon deluge and the Gateway murder show two very different sides of Mumbaiites: Caring vs indifferent. BT explores
ROSHNI OLIVERA Times News Network
Ngakuim Raony, who survived in the Gateway of India tragedy where her friend Leisha Choan was murdered by a mentally unsound youth, has one lament: “Nobody came forward to help.” Heard that line before? Most certainly, because it is a common phenomenon in Mumbai. Be it a road accident, a rape case (remember the minor raped in a local train?), an acid attack case or any other similar situation where a victim is in need. Ironically, this is the same city which just recently during the floods came together and saw citizens help each other out. “It’s unbe lievable,” observes Sanjesh Sharma, a young executive, who recently met with an accident when the autorickshaw on which he was travelling, toppled. “I was bleeding but nobody came forward. Fortunately, I hadn’t lost consciousness and so could rush to a hospital by myself. But just a month ago during the deluge I had so many people offering help.” He adds, “Sometimes its so helpful and other times so apathetic. Strange are the ways of Mumbaiites.” But people’s ways are not so strange after all, explains psychiatrist Dr Anjali Chhabria. “Whenever something sudden happens the initial reaction is shock. People are too numb to react. Often they are looking for the other person to react. That’s why if somebody takes the initiative to help, others follow. Then there’s fear which is one of the main reasons that stops a person from offering help. In fact, people can be paralysed by fear. Also, they tend to think of themselves and their own safety first. On the other hand, during a calamity where every single person is affected, people get together and rise to the situation." Another reason people shy away from coming forward, as sociologist Nandini Sardesai says, is because they believe it results in endless trips to the police station. The attitude of not wanting to get involved because involvement would mean committment and responsibility exists. “In Sociology, there’s primary relationships (where it’s informal and personal) and secondary relationships (utilitarian and manipulative). Nowadays, it’s more of secondary relationships where the attachment is little. When it’s a stranger, people don’t go out of their way to help. The blase outlook people have towards life tends to make them insensitive,” she explains.

TRAGIC END:The late Leisha Choan (in beige) and Ngakuim Raony just before the attack
for pic, click here http://epaperarchive.timesofindia.com/Repository/ml.asp?Ref=VE9JTS8yMDA1LzA4LzIxI0FyMDMxMDI=&Mode=HTML&Locale=english-skin-custom