Over the last few days, Goa has been witness to two incidents of vehicular assault -- in Siolim three days ago when a Mercedes driver Archit Sangelkar, 21, on a joyride mowed down and inflicted life-altering injuries on a music teacher Judith Fernandes while more recently on Friday night, a Delhi resident staying at Mandrem, in a fit of rage knocked over Maria Fernandes, 65, a local coconut seller, after an argument.
While in the latter case, the accused Deepan Batra has been arrested and booked for murder the accused in the earlier case has already been released on bail. The two incidents combined with other accident and hit-and-run cases, raise questions over the mild manner in which the Goa Police have been dealing with cases of extreme violence on the roads.
In the Mandrem case, it was only after locals gathered at the police station and demanded that an FIR be registered for murder, that the section was included. It should not have to come to this. Treating those indulging in violence with kid gloves is only a surefire way to embolden people newly resident in the State to indulge in even graver incidents of violence.
Goans have been known to live in peace and despite differences between neighbours being common in the State, acts of violence -- much less murder are still rare. It is not the case in other parts of the country, especially north India where violence using weapons is a routine method of settling scores with the police often being silent spectators. Such sensibilities should not be allowed to take root here and should be nipped in the bud -- those who choose to live in Goa should live by the sensibilities of the Goan way of life.
That a vehicle is used as the weapon of assault should in no way be allowed to reduce the gravity of the offence under the guise that the incidents were accidental in any manner. The other aspect that these and other incidents highlight is the absence of effective enforcement of traffic sensibilities.
Traffic regulation isn’t only about penalising those not wearing helmets and seatbelts. It is about cracking down on those doing acts that are dangerous not just to themselves but to other road users as well -- pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicular users. Violations like dangerous parking right on the carriageway, wrong-side driving especially on highways and speeding on narrow village roads are rarely penalised by the police allowing such behaviour to continue unchecked.
In addition, there are other problems. Poorly lit streets, and lack of footpaths along most of the roads in the State, including village and city streets, only serve to heighten the risk for road users. It follows a general trend in the State where private spaces are well maintained but common and public spaces are neglected and left to rot. Even in villages like Anjuna, Siolim, Mandrem, and Assagao, where real estate property prices are through the roof, public amenities for safe walking are sorely missing and only increase the risk for all involved.
Despite such shortcomings, drivers choose to drive at speed when risks of pedestrians, animals and other sundry obstacles are high, which only means they are behaving recklessly knowing well the consequences of their actions. No leniency should be shown for such reckless behaviour and should be penalised with the strong arm of the law.
