Late on Wednesday night in Bangalore, a 26 year old woman Bhavatarini, in an inebriated state, crushed down a 50 year old pedestrian Subramani to death, while another pedestrian escaped with minor injuries. Subramani, 50, had remained a bachelor and worked in two jobs just to support his sister’s family.
Bhavatarini, who has been pursuing her MBA in London had come to Bangalore on a vacation. She has been booked for rash and negligent driving and remanded to judicial custody for now. Going by previous such cases, she will soon be released from prison and will continue to lead a normal life.
Drinking and Driving Cases: This is not the first one and won’t be the last one
There is nothing shocking about this incident. Numerous such incidents have happened in the recent past. Last year, corporate lawyer Jahnavi Gadkar decided to celebrate a corporate deal by having a few drinks and drove her Audi at 120 km/hr on the wrong side of the road in Mumbai, thereby getting a taxi driver killed. Jahnavi Gadkar is now out on bail and is leading a normal life.
The hit and run case of Bollywood actor Salman Khan, where he allegedly ran over people sleeping in a footpath is known to all. Using his celebrity status and money power, Salman probably too managed to avoid a jail sentence. When an ordinary citizen like Jahnavi could manage it, it was all too easy for Salman.
Drinking and Driving Cases: 25000 deaths reported in India every year due to drunken driving
On an average, there are about twenty five thousand deaths reported in India every year due to drunken driving. Let us now look at the laws in India around alcohol. On 1 March 2012, the Union Cabinet approved proposed changes to the Motor Vehicle Act. Higher penalties were introduced, including fines from ₹2,000 to ₹10,000 and imprisonment from 6 months to 4 years. Different penalties are assessed depending on the blood alcohol content at the time of the offence. But on most occasions, we see that the perpetrators of this crime escape by paying a minimal fee and making use of the loopholes in our judicial system.
Drinking and Driving Cases: Is banning Alcohol a solution?
Alcohol has been banned in states like Gujarat and Bihar, while Tamil Nadu and Kerala are all set to follow suit. So, is a complete ban on alcohol a solution to this problem? Definitely not. Consuming alcohol is not a crime and that should be left to an individual. Also, a complete ban will result in the availability of illegal and spurious liquor, which will only worsen the situation. The need of the hour is to push for responsible drinking and stricter punishments for offenders. No offender must be able to escape from prison by just paying some money to the courts. The offenders must realize that lives are at risk because of their carelessness and negligent attitude. Money cannot be a substitute for lives they have taken. Unless the laws are changed to have stricter punishment for the offenders, this menace will continue.
Drinking and Driving Cases: A not-so-important subject in India
This issue has been largely neglected by the parliamentarians, the judiciary and the mainstream media. This is a far more important issue than height of dahi handi and jallikattu, where the Supreme Court has been showing special importance. There is no outrage on the death of Subramani by the liberal brigade and the mainstream media is also silent about this. While the death of a certain Mohammed Akhlaq had the liberal brigade going berserk, the death of Subramani has not seen a fraction of the outrage that was seen for Akhlaq. The same can be said about the suicide of Rohith Vemula, where more than necessary coverage was given. Yes, there is no scope for throwing dirt on the current dispensation here or gaining any political brownies. But the fact is, there has been a loss of life because of sheer negligence and this should be seen as a murder and not a mere accident.
This is something that our parliamentarians must debate on and modify the current legislation in such a way that people think twice before drinking and driving. Our mainstream media would do well to give as much coverage to this grave issue as they do on Kanhaiya Kumar’s useless speeches, the never ending Sheena Bohra case, the Bhoomata brigade and so on.