Viral Video: Truck topples ‘mentally ill’ man sitting on chair in middle of busy road in UP’s Pratapgarh

A video doing the rounds on social media showed a man sitting on a plastic chair in the middle of a busy road amid heavy rain in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh. He was seemingly unfazed by the surrounding traffic. The 17-second clip captured the man, dressed in black shorts, sitting cross-legged as vehicles pass by.

Another extended clip of the same video showed a truck approaching from behind and brushing against his chair of the man sitting in the middle of the road. He was knocked down to the ground after the truck hit his chair.

According to reports, the man was near a police check post, yet no efforts were made to remove him from the road.

After an investigation by Kotwali Nagar Police Statio, the family of the man was informed that he is mentally ill. The man was then handed over to his family. 

The truck that hit the man is being identified and further legal proceedings are underway, as per NDTV report.

The local police have acknowledged the incident, noting that the video has drawn significant attention online. In a statement on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), police revealed that the man is mentally ill and has since been returned to his family. 

Police also mentioned that they are in the process of identifying the truck involved and that legal action will follow.

“After the collision, the man, though appearing uninjured, is seen lying on the road, looking around in shock. Onlookers, rather than showing concern, are heard encouraging the truck driver not to stop, urging him to continue driving without checking on the man,” Pratapgarh Police reponded to the video in Hindi.

“It's all a matter of reels Babu Bhaiya, but in front of the police station, the person who meant come bull and hit me, became Nihad,” Adv. Amir Shaikh, a X user responded on the video.