Killer driver gets two-year jail
It has been a long and lonely battle for Sumir Anand, the father of Curran Anand who died in a tragic car crash in June 2008 on the Gurgaon Expressway. On Wednesday, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes after the court gave its verdict in the case.
It has been a long and lonely battle for Sumir Anand, the father of Curran Anand who died in a tragic car crash in June 2008 on the Gurgaon Expressway. On Wednesday, there was a glimmer of hope in his eyes after the court gave its verdict in the case.
A Gurgaon Sessions Court sentenced 20-year old accused Tapan Malik to jail for two years. He has been booked for rash and negligent driving in the accident, which claimed the lives of three teenage boys.
The Sessions court upheld the judgment of the lower court that had awarded the same jail term to the accused last year. He, however, was granted bail the same day.
Malik, Curran Anand (15), Divyanshu (15) and Sidharth Mehran (16) were all returning from a party in Delhi on the night of June 14, 2008.
Malik was allegedly driving the Tata Indigo car at a high speed and dashed into the median of the Expressway around 2.30 am at the Shankar Chowk flyover.
While the three died on the spot, Malik had a miraculous escape.
The car almost split into two because of the impact.
Divyanshu and Sidharth were students of GD Goenka World School while Curran was from Pathways World School.
According to prosecution counsel Ved Parkash Munjal, “Malik was sent to a Gurgaon jail and he will remain there till he gets bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.”
Curran’s father, meanwhile, reiterated his commitment to take the case to its logical end.
“Though Malik will be released from jail after getting bail from the High Court, today’s judgment will set an example for negligent drivers who do not care about other’s lives. I am a relived man now and will continue the battle even till the Supreme Court,” Anand said.
Same case, two verdicts in 2 yrs
The trial in the car crash case is probably one of the fastest ones in Haryana as this case witnessed two verdicts — one by a lower court and another by a sessions court — in a little over two years.
The incident had occurred on June 14, 2008, and the first judgement in the case had come in the court of Rakesh Yadav who had delivered the verdict on September 6, 2009. The judge sentenced accused Tapan Malik to two years in jail. But the accused had managed to get bail on the same day of the verdict. This helped him skip the jail term. However, this time, the court did not take much time to deliver the verdict.
According to counsel Amit Munjal, the trial in this case was probably the fasted in the state as two judgements have been made in just two years. “I have not seen such quick judgements even in fast-track courts. Fortunately, witnesses deposed and appeared whenever needed. Sumir Anand also pursued the case,” he said.