On Feburay 11 this year, a 74-year-old man was hit by a vehicle and dragged for nearly 60 metres on the bonnet before finally being dumped on the pavement. The septuagenarian, who had sufferred serious head injuries, was rushed to Medanta Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.
GL Saxena, a retired sub-divisional engineer (SDE) at the telecom department, was a yoga expert and an avid cyclist. But thanks to a show of drunken machismo, Saxena lost his life. And, making matters worse, there was nothing that anybody could do about it.
“My father had stepped out to perform his daily chores. He was near Baktawar chowk when the incident happened; an Alto car rammed him at full speed,” said Sanjeev Saxena, the deceased’s son.
The accused was allegedly intercepted while trying to flee after hitting Saxena. The man, however, was not made to undergo any medical test to prove that he had consumed liquor. Due to this breach of procedure, his quantum of punishment was reduced from 10 years to a meagre two years.
“No blood test was conducted on the accused. When he was presented in court, the judge had no option but to release him on bail for a minor offence. The man who took my father’s life now walks a free man,” added Sanjeev.
{{/usCountry}}“No blood test was conducted on the accused. When he was presented in court, the judge had no option but to release him on bail for a minor offence. The man who took my father’s life now walks a free man,” added Sanjeev.
{{/usCountry}}He wrote about 38 letters to the chief minister, Human Rights Commission, State Human Rights Commission and senior police officers. He even visited them several times demanding justice, but all his efforts proved futile.
Sources claimed that the same accused had hit two more persons and a roadside vendor earlier. Each time he was taken to the police station, no FIR was registered against him and he was let off easy. “The last four months have been extremely painful for me. Now I have decided to dedicate all my free time to help and support victims of road accidents and their families,” said Sanjeev.