Mumbai's drivers from hell

A 21 yearold student was run over and a woman injured in two separate hitandrun instances on Saturday With 6000 traffic offenders caught daily Mumbai is at the mercy of careadamn motorists A third year Bachelor of Science student and a middleaged woman were involved in two separate hit and run accidents on Saturday While 30 yearold Ashwini Yogesh Gangurde received injuries on the right side of her face and body 21 yearold Darshan Kadam a student of Vidyalankar College died after he was taken to KEM hospital in Parel Junior college student Rahul Desai holds up a bloodied handkerchief that accident victim Darshan Kadam was carrying Kadams bike was hit by a tempo on Saturday morning on Elphinstone bridgeKadam was riding his motorcycle on the Elphinstone flyover at 945 am when he was run over by a tempo The driver fled from the scene leaving a grievously injured Kadam behind Rahul Desai a junior college student who witnessed the incident took Kadam to KEM hospital in a taxi However Kadam succumbed to his injuries A speeding biker hit Gangurde a resident of Ulhasnagar while she was crossing the road on the Currey Road flyover at 1130 am The biker who had stopped after the incident fled the scene after a crowd began to gatherSaturdays accidents seem to be part of a rising number of hit and run incidents in a city plagued by narrow potholed roads incessant construction work and footpaths taken over by hawkersRise in road mishaps and deathsLast month television actor Ronit Roy was arrested for reportedly ramming into a Wagon R with his Mercedes The actor was returning from a Diwali party on October 27 when he hit the car Three persons including a 56yearold woman were injured in the accidentu00a0In April Ankesh Shahra the son of the managing director of Ruchi Soya Group allegedly knocked down a motorcyclist with his Porsche car on Marine Drive Shahra was booked for negligence and drunk drivingWhile figures of hit and run incidents are unavailable Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic Brijesh Singh told Sunday MiDDAY that 6000 traffic offences are recorded dailyu00a0Every day the traffic police fines more than 6000 offenders for breaking traffic rules such as overspeeding drink driving jumping signals driving without license and without helmet etc he said 21 yearold Darshan Kadam a student of Vidyalankar College was hit and run over by a tempo on this spotu00a0Elphinstone flyover at 945 am on Saturday A recently released National Crime Record Bureau report also revealed that the country has witnessed a 50 per cent increase in the number of deaths caused by road mishaps in 2010 than a decade ago Maharashtra accounted for 167 per cent of them with 64204 deathsEyewitnesses come forward to helpDesai a 17 yearold student of Aryambhatt Junior College saw Kadam being run over by the tempo I was returning from college when I saw the accident occur When no one came forward to help the injured man I crossed the divider and took him to KEM hospital in a taxi I called up his father from his cellphone to inform him of the incident Kadams upper body was damaged but he was still breathing when we were going to the hospital He even managed to walk into the hospital I regret the fact that despite my efforts I was not able to save his life he told Sunday MiDDAYKadams father Manohar Kadam is an assistant sub inspector at the local arms unit 1 of the Mumbai police He had bought a new bike for his son on Dusshera Kadam a Naigon resident was on his way to the service centre when he met with the accident Kadam is survived by two older sisters one of whom is an airhostess and another a studentHis friends and family are inconsolable Suresh Sawant his neighbour said He was a shy child His father and mother are in a state of shock and his sisters have lost their only brother His father is under the impression that Darshan will return from the servicing centre He was supposed to accompany himGaurav Kshirsagar a close friend of Kadam said I met him yesterdayu00a0 and we made a plan to attend a friends birthday party on Saturday He was supposed to call me after returning from the service centreThe incident that took place on Saturday morning is unfortunate but we will see to it that strict action is taken against the accused The main reason behind rising accidents is over speeding of vehicles on narrow roads We have enforced strict laws to punish such motorists and will do so on a daily basis Singh saidGangurde who was hit by a speeding motorcyclist said I was stepping down from the footpath when a biker who was speeding hit me I fell down writhing in pain and felt giddy Luckily my husband works close by and the pedestrians present called him and I was taken to KEM hospitalGangurde was treated for injuries and released the same day Road safety expert Jitendra Gupta said The main reason behind the increasing number of accidents are Mumbais narrowing roads The traffic police officials should keep a strict vigil on speeding vehicles and fine errant motoristsu00a0The BMC should also take action against hawkers who encroach on footpath leaving pedestrians with no choice but to walk on the road Both Currey Road and Elphinstone Bridge flyovers have narrow footpaths on which hawkers sell wares forcing pedestrians to walk on the roads dangerously dodging traffic during peak hoursPointing out the loopholes that offenders exploit advocate Kiran Makasare said Hit and run cases are Bailable offences even if the victim dies The accused often flee from the spot since they fear mob rage It is difficult to prove rash and negligent driving Eyewitness evidence is essential to convict the accusedMumbais hit and run diaries September 2002 Actor Salman Khan reportedly ran over workers sleeping on the road near a bakery in Bandra killing one and injuring four A court of metropolitan magistrate had framed charges against Khan under sections 304 A of IPC rash and negligent driving 279 rash driving 337 causing minor injuries 338 causing major injuries and 427 negligence of the IPCThe nine yearlong case has seen many twists and turns including the actor saying he was not behind the wheel of the car and witnesses turning hostileu00a0 Earlier this year in March Khan said that he cannot be charged under section 304II of IPC culpable homicide not amounting to murder January 2010 Nooriya Haveliwala 27 who according to the police was driving over 150 km an hour in her SUV rammed her car into a police jeep and two other vehicles killing two people and severely injuring four policemen She was released on bail in April April 2011 Ankesh Shahra the son of the managing director of Ruchi Soya Group allegedly knocked down a motorcyclist a delivery man with his Porsche car on Marine Drive Shahra was booked for negligence and drunk driving September 2011The son of a Shiv Sena politician was accused in a hitandrun case in which a 55yearold pedestrian was killed in Bhayander The driver of a white car banged into another car before crashing into a twowheeler and then hit the pedestrian who sustained serious injuries and later succumbed to them October 27 2011 Television actor Ronit Roy was returning from a Diwali party when he hit a Wagon R with his Mercedes Three persons including a 56yearold woman were injured in the accident What if you are caught in a hit amp runHit and Run cases are registered under the Section 279 Indian Penal Code IPC Whoever drives any vehicle or rides on any public way in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees or with both Hit and Run cases can also be registered under 134A and 134B of Indian Motor Vehicle IMV Act If death occurs the driver can be charged under Section 304A causing death by negligence punishable with imprisonment of upto two years or with fine or with both