Agra: In a case of extreme insensitivity, a family from Maharashtra left their elderly father tied alone inside a car at the parking lot of Taj Mahal on a hot and humid Thursday afternoon.
The matter came to light when a parking employee noticed the elderly man lying unconscious with his waist, hands and legs tied inside a car while his family left to visit the Taj Mahal. The windows of the car were left slightly opened.
The parking staff chanced to see the man, believed to be in late seventies, when his younger son had gone to the washroom. He immediately alerted his colleagues and the tourism police. Soon, a crowd gathered around the car which had a plate of ‘Maharashtra Government’.
Sensing the delicate situation, the windowpane was broken and the elderly man was taken out and put in an ambulance. The younger son, who had returned by then, then boarded the ambulance. The family members are said to have claimed that the elderly man was suffering from dementia.
The drama did not end there, as the younger seemingly called up his elder brother. He drove the same car and reached near Agra Fort from where he took his father out of the ambulance and left with him and his brother. This entire turn of events has gone viral on social media.
This is the first time that such an incident was reported in which a person was found locked and abandoned in a car in the tourist site. Earlier, several cases have come to light wherein pets were left mindlessly behind in vehicles.
Tourism police station in-charge Ruby Singh said that the family left before the police reached the spot, and, therefore, further details were not available.
Agra Tourist Welfare Chamber secretary Vishal Sharma deplored the “criminal negligence” of the family in question. “This incident is not only inhumane, but also tarnishes the image of an international tourist destination like Agra. Leaving a sick person in a locked car is criminal negligence,” he told the media.
Seeking strict action in such cases, he demanded patrolling be increased in and around the Taj Mahal to avoid its recurrence. “Clear instructions should be issued for tourists that they should not leave pets or sick family members locked in the car under any circumstances,” he said.
(Edited by Tony Rai)