Bystanders take photos as she's dying

A 28-year-old woman lay dying on a busy street in the Indian city of Kolkata on Friday morning, but nobody stopped to help.

Ms Afsa Khatoon, a mother of four, was run over by a speeding school bus in the capital of the state of West Bengal.

She was left unattended on the road for about half an hour, even as people took pictures of the seriously injured woman on their mobile phones, The Times of India reported.

The area where she was run over is one of the busiest localities in the city.

By the time word got to her family and she was taken to hospital, it was too late.

Had someone helped her in time, she would have survived, her family said.

Ms Khatoon had dropped off her daughters Haasha and Aksha at school and was returning home when the speeding school bus ran her over while trying to overtake another bus from the wrong lane.

One side of the road was packed with vehicles dropping off students at two of the city's most reputable schools.

On the other side, buses carrying passengers to the IT hub of Salt Lake jostled for space.

Yet, no one stopped to help her.

Ms Khatoon's brother Mohd Sazam Siddiqui also alleged she was not treated in time, but the hospital denied it.

When police started investigating the case, there was more shock in store.

They could not find a single witness of the accident, although a shop which had lots of customers then was just 5m away.

CHILD

CCTV footage showed Ms Khatoon was conscious all the while, which means help at the right moment would have made all the difference.

Her youngest child is just three months old.

Her husband, Mr Siddiqui, a businessman, told The Times: "She had promised to come back and feed her newborn."

Meanwhile, police arrested the school bus helper but the driver absconded.

The bus has yet to be traced.

Traffic police suspect the bus registration number is fake.

This article was first published on March 15, 2015.
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