NEWS FLASH - Decorated Army officer left dead on road for 3 hrs

NEW DELHI: A 44-year-old decorated Army officer was hit by an unidentified vehicle early Wednesday morning and left lying on Africa Avenue in south Delhi for hours. The police noticed him there, but surmised that he was dead. About three hours later, he was taken to AIIMS trauma centre where he was declared "brought dead".

The family of Major Alok Singh, who was director administration at KPMG after taking early retirement from military service, is distraught — it feels Maj Singh might have been alive had not the police been so casual in dealing with the accident. The doctors seem to agree.

"Whether a trauma victim is dead or not, is not for the police to decide, nor are they trained for it," said Dr Amit Gupta, assistant professor of surgery who is attached with the AIIMS trauma centre. There is a "golden hour" within which if a trauma victim gets medical attention he might be revived.

The incident has not just brought back the harsh spotlight on the heartless city which has little time, leave aside a sense of duty, for accident victims, it has also raised questions about the training of police — whether they know the do's and don'ts of dealing with accidents.

Maj Singh left his Safdarjung Enclave home at 6am for his usual morning walk at Deer Park. He normally returned by 8am, but when he didn't until 8.30am, his wife called his cellphone. It was answered by a cop. "The policeman said he had met with an accident and was being taken to hospital," said Rahul Jain, a friend and neighbour.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Decorated-Army-officer-left-dead-on-road-for-3-hrs/articleshow/5585574.cms