‘Saved injured cop, left bleeding youth behind’: Family alleges police apathy after Kochi night check accident

Kochi: A routine vehicle check sparked controversy in the early hours of Friday in Kochi after an accident left a youth and a policeman seriously injured. It is alleged that the police rescued their colleague but left the bleeding youth behind, forcing his friend to tie the victim to his back with a shirt and ride the damaged bike to the hospital.

The incident occurred around 2 am on Friday near the Malikapparambu Ice Plant at Chellanam, when the police attempted to stop a motorcycle carrying Anil Rajendran (28) and his friend Rahul Sabu (28), both of Kommadi, Alappuzha. The duo was returning after attending Christmas celebrations as part of the Cochin Carnival in Fort Kochi.

Anil suffered severe facial injuries, including a shattered nasal bridge, damage to teeth and deep wounds on his leg. Civil Police Officer (CPO) V A Bijumon of the Kannamaly police station sustained serious injuries, including a fracture to his left forearm, facial injuries and head trauma. Both were later admitted to private hospitals in Ernakulam.

According to Rahul, both he and Anil were wearing helmets and had all the valid documents. “Since it was late at night, the road was clear. We saw the policeman only when we came very close. Anil immediately slowed down to stop,” he said. Rahul alleged that the officer suddenly grabbed Anil’s arm. “He might have thought we were trying to escape. The bike accelerated, skidded and flipped,” he said.

The fall threw all three - Anil, Rahul and the policeman - onto the road. “When I stood up, I saw both Anil and the policeman lying unconscious,” Rahul recalled.

Rahul said he helped rescue the injured officer first. “With the help of the ASI and another biker who stopped from the opposite direction, I helped lift the policeman and put him into the police jeep,” he said.

It was what happened next that has become the heart of the controversy.

“When I tried to lift Anil and begged the ASI to take him too, as he was bleeding badly, he refused. I begged him, ‘Sir, my friend is also seriously injured. I don’t know any hospitals here. Please take him.’ He told me, ‘You take him yourself,’ and drove away towards Kochi,” Rahul alleged.

Anil’s mother, Remadevi, echoed this account. “Rahul himself helped load the injured policeman into the police vehicle. When he asked the other officer to take Anil also, the police replied, ‘You take him yourself,’” she said. 

Left alone at the spot, Rahul said he was terrified and unsure what to do. “The other biker had left. Anil regained consciousness, but his face was covered in blood. It was horrifying,” he said.

With the bike badly damaged in the crash and no help in sight, Rahul made a desperate decision.

“I took off my long-sleeve T-shirt and tied Anil to my body so that he wouldn’t fall if he became unconscious again. I asked him to hold me tight and keep talking so I knew he was conscious,” Rahul said.

He then rode nearly 20 kilometres in that condition to Chettikad Taluk Hospital. “It was extremely risky and scary, but I had no choice. My friend had already lost too much blood,” he said. From there, Anil was shifted by ambulance to Alappuzha Medical College and later moved to a private hospital in Ernakulam for specialised treatment.

Remadevi said Anil’s face is now covered in stitches and he requires surgery to repair his broken nose. “Doctors said the surgery can be done only after the swelling reduces. It is unbearable to see him like this,” she said.

She also revealed that the family initially told the first hospital that a dog had jumped across the road. “Rahul was scared that if he said it involved the police, he might be denied treatment. He decided to tell the truth only after friends and others came in the morning,” she said.

Remadevi said Anil’s father, Rajendran, is an amputee who has lost one leg and also suffers from kidney disease. He is currently undergoing treatment in Ernakulam. Anil, who works at a private firm, is the family’s primary caregiver and support. The family has filed a complaint with the Alappuzha SP. 

Police's version
Kannamaly police denied abandoning the youth. The FIR registered by Kannamaly police states that the bike riders failed to stop during vehicle checks and rammed into CPO Bijumon, causing him to fall, hit his head and lose consciousness.

The FIR notes that the officer suffered a fracture to his left forearm, injuries to the nasal bridge and wounds to his head and leg. Anil and Rahul have been booked for causing grievous injuries to obstruct official duty.

“The youths tried to flee without stopping and that's when the accident occurred. They didn't have many injuries and they went to the hospital,” said a policeman. CPO Bijumon underwent surgery on his hand by Friday noon, and doctors confirmed there was no internal bleeding.

Meanwhile, the Mattancherry Assistant Commissioner of Police said the incident is being examined and that police are verifying what exactly transpired at the scene, including statements and available footage.