Team Herald
PANJIM: With not a single drunken driving offense resulting in imprisonment despite some errant drivers claiming innocent lives, Goa police have now decided to not only book the violators but also assess and submit to court damage and/or casualty the accident could have caused. Director General of Police Muktesh Chander, the brain behind an aggressive exercise on curbing the menace in the tourist State, has begun an exhaustive study that also comprised of collecting data from bigger cities on the total drunken driving offenders sent to jail.
The police chief has already instructed all field officers to book cases and prepare reports to be submitted to the court citing the seriousness of each case. “We will not spare any drunken driving offender. The department has started issuing challans to these violators and is simultaneously preparing reports of each on the aggravating circumstances which will throw light on increased probability of accused causing serious damage to life and property of people on the road, he said speaking to HERALD. The report, Chander added would also cite Supreme Court-panel’s guidelines on maximum jail term of six months on being caught driving in an inebriated state.
Concerned by the rising number of road accident deaths, a Supreme Court-appointed panel in 2015 had directed state governments and union territories to commence a crackdown on violators of traffic norms, including imprisonment and suspension of driving licenses. It had also stated that driving under the influence of liquor or drugs can also lead to jail terms of six months, even for the first offence.
Unfortunately, in this state known for cheap and easy availability of liquor, no offender has been sent behind bars even for one day. This is despite an increase in offenses being reported particularly during the peak season besides few deaths on roads due to drunken driving.
In a busy city in Hyderabad, as many as 2852 persons were sent to jail for two or more days in 2017 whereas Goa drew a blank. The DGP, who has also served as Commissioner of Delhi Traffic Police, is also in the process of collecting data from his counterparts in Bangalore, Delhi and other cities.
“We are determined to make sure that a violator does not go scot free by mere paying fine. He/she should be behind bars for maximum 6 months or even one week and once it begins to happen, no person will dare to take law for granted,” he said.
