First Bengaluru, now Mumbai: Thane cops book woman after pothole kills mother

When Priti Prasad, a resident of Ambernath, couldn’t manoeuvre around the potholes on the Kalyan-Karjat road, her mother, who was riding pillion, fell off the scooter and later died while receiving treatment. But shockingly, Priti was booked for rash driving and causing death by negligence by the Thane police. [caption id=“attachment_2444200” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Ibnlive[/caption] The Times of India reports , that the police booked her despite the fact that Priti wanted to file a case against the contractor who built the road for negligence. This incident comes close on the heels of a Bengaluru man being booked for criminal negligence when his wife died after their bike crashed into a pothole. Meanwhile, Vishwash Valvi, senior police inspector of the local Shivaji Nagar police station told The Times of India, “Driving a vehicle carefully is the responsibility of the driver and as she was driving negligently, her mother died. That is why we made her an accused in the case.” The Kalyan-Karjat road is said to have been made only a year ago and its upkeep is the responsibility of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, the report says. Both the incidents, when close relatives were booked for the deaths, has left the residents of Bengaluru and Ambernath outraged, the government has been silent over the issue. And the Bengaluru police too had a ridiculous explanation for charging Om Prakash Tripathi for the death of his wife Stuti Pandey. NDTV quotes Additional Commissioner of Police Dr MA Saleem as saying, “We have booked many drivers of four wheelers whose family members were killed during a self-accident so this is a legal procedure that has to be followed. If you don’t investigate the case, if you just leave it like that, the truth may not come out.” Does this explanation by the Bengaluru Police hold any legal ground? No, said lawyer counsel MT Nanaiah who said a case should have been filed against the civic authorities for leaving the road in a bad condition. “The victim’s husband should file a complaint against the BBMP for causing death of his wife and also claim compensation. He should also file a petition seeking to quash the complaint registered by the traffic police in the appropriate court,” Nanaiah told The New Indian Express.