TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Her victims are still not out of danger, in fact one of them has a long road ahead, but the woman who did this to them managed to take the very short road to freedom on Tuesday, after a blink and farcical token arrest and release on a bail bond of Rs 10,000, unlikely to be too much more than the value of the liquor she consumed that night.
Shobika Gaur, the accused lady driver, whose speeding car, which she was driving in an inebriated state, knocked down two young men on Saturday-Sunday night, can boast of connections. As a former employee of a private radio station and current employee of the upmarket Manipal Hospital in Dona Paula, she is no damsel in distress. In fact very senior government sources in the know of this case have confirmed of her absolute nonchalance, with no fear of any consequences. She is reported to have even told a close friend that nothing would happen to her and that she has become famous overnight.
Shockingly, the case was registered only on Tuesday, nearly three days after the incident. Her statement has not been recorded even though she failed the breath analyser test. Constable Tanaji of the Panjim police station, investigating the case said “We will charge sheet the case soon. The statement of the accused is not recorded, it does not happen. She is released on a bail bond of Rs 10,000. There is one witness so far and it was a late night.”
Try saying that to the families of Sandesh Khutkar and Kaiser Braganza, her two victims, one with a ruptured liver which might need surgery and the other with broken legs.
Shobika is charged with entering a no entry lane, drunken driving and other charges besides rash driving and causing grievous hurt. She has been booked under of the Indian Penal Code sections 279 for rash driving and 338 for causing grievous hurt. She was called to the police station where she was arrested and bailed out soon after. However, for drunk driving there is only a fine of Rs 2000 that the accused has allegedly paid.
In other states like Delhi where too there is a culture where everybody knows everybody prosecution, imprisonments, and driving license suspensions have made it a much safer place as far as driving is concerned. The numbers of accidents had come down in 2010 and 2011. According to Bangalore, another city with pub culture, the step to suspend licenses was taken after the campaign against drunk driving failed to yield results.
Right now, the question is, will Panjim and Goa look the other way and allow Shobhika Gaur to get away by literally mocking at the system which is acting according to letter but allowing her to enjoy her spirit, notwithstanding that she almost killed two people on Saturday night.
