Swathi's body lay in a pool of blood for over two hours at the busy station in Chennai.
While there is considerable shock that no eyewitnesses came forward to help Swathi S - the 24-year-old techie who was hacked to death at a railway station in Chennai on Friday - many say it's best to not get involved in such rescues. They blame it on fear of harassment by police.
T Ashwin, a dental student, said, "Eye witnesses are seen as criminals. People are also worried about the frequent visits to courts. And many are scared that the accused may attack them."
Although many commuters were at the station when the young techie was murdered, none intervened. Most of the eye witnesses moved hopping into the next train. None attended to her nor informed the police. Swathi's body remained there for two hours.
"We've become selfish, we are losing our values. We've started feeling if I'm fine (so it's) its fine," R Partheeban, a professor, said.
Experts say though the Supreme Court has put in place a witness protection system, police do not follow it due to lack of training.
P V S Giridhar, an advocate, said, "Eye witnesses are often harassed. Police ask them to come at a particular time but would often make them wait the whole day."
Swathi S was killed on Friday by a man who had allegedly stalked her for months. He attacked her with a sickle while she was waiting for a train to her workplace 60 km from Chennai. The man, seen in security camera footage released by police, is yet to be arrested.
As rumours spread over the cause of the murder, Swathi's family appealed that people stop gossiping.
On Monday the Madras High Court pulled up the police over the case. Giving them two days' time to arrest the accused, the court asked, "Where were your police officers? Swathi's body was lying like an exhibition for two hours. Even the dead have a right to dignity under the constitution."
Defending its investigation and rejecting criticism of being uncoordinated, the Chennai police has said that it has deputed 25 people to probe the case.