Good Samaritan rescues injured doc lying on Kankurgachhi road after accident
Times of India | 29 July 2024
Kolkata: As a physician, he had tended to the ailing, including accident victims. But on Saturday afternoon, when the 29-year-old injured doctor needed medical attention, it was a passer-by who took him to hospital, and even stayed with him while he was shifted to another facility. The doctor, Sujoy Saha, will undergo a surgery to fix a fractured shoulder on Monday.
Saha, a medical officer at NRS Medical College, was returning from the hospital on his two-wheeler when he met with an accident on CIT Road in Kankurgachhi.He sustained a fracture in his left shoulder, along with cuts and bruises. While some people helped with water as he lay on the road for 15 minutes, none came forward to take him to hospital. “I was in pain and un-able to move. I needed medical attention and was wondering how to reach hospital when a gentleman volunteered to take me,” Saha said.
Saha, who is from Murshidabad and lives alone in Dum Dum, said calling his family would not have helped. It would have instead made them, including his pregnant wife, anxious.
Ajay Mittal, a resident of Hajra, was in Kankurgachhi to hold meetings about blood donation and yoga camp initiatives. On his way back home, he noticed a crowd by the roadside. “The man was bleeding and in pain. Since he was drowsy on the way to hospital, I kept him engaged in conversation. That is when I came to know that he is a doctor and was returning home after his shift at NRS Medical College,” said Mittal.
Although Mittal initially planned to drop him off at NRS Medical College, he decided to stay back after realising Saha might need further help as his family was not here. After primary treatment and an X-ray confirming the shoulder fracture, Saha wanted to be shifted to Mission of Mercy Hospital. Mittal accompanied him and went home only after Saha was admitted.
“Though I believed in the expertise of doctors at NRS, I would have needed someone to run around for tests before the surgery. I decided to come to this hospital where I have employees, including a doctor, known to me. Mittal’s act has reinforced my trust in humanity,” said Saha.
Mittal said the episode at the hospital was an eye-opener on the burden on govt hospitals and patients’ hardships. “The incident was a powerful reminder of how the universe aligns us to be instruments of support,” he said.