PANAJI:
On an average, Goa witnesses road accidents everyday, but what is
turning into a matter of concern is the increase in the number of
hit-and-run cases and their low detection rate. In the last four years,
only 50% of hit-and-run cases have been detected by Goa police.
While the state has witnessed 475 hit-and-run cases since 2011, only 240 cases have been detected. While 209 of the 475 cases have been charge-sheeted, convictions have been secured in only 25 cases with 38 cases seeing acquittals. Pending trial are 144 cases, while 142 cases are under investigation, and 123 cases have been finalized.
On November 16, 2013, senior citizen George Rebello was mowed down by a speeding car on the busy Miramar road. The four-wheeler disappeared without a trace, leaving the 76-year-old to succumb to injuries. Till date police have not been able to trace the vehicle involved in the accident nor has anyone been arrested.
It isn't only civilians who are killed in hit-and-run cases. Traffic police aren't spared either. On March 15, 2013, a police sub-inspector attached to the Ponda traffic cell, Abhishek Gomes, 30, was killed in a hit-and-run case involving a truck near Bethora in Ponda taluka.
Speaking to TOI, deputy inspector general of police (DIG) K K Vyas attributes the low detection rate in hit-and-run cases to the accused speeding away from the spot and the details or description of the vehicle involved being hard to come by. He says while police control room (PCR) vans have been told to stay alert when informed of such cases, "we are also considering the installation of CCTV cameras at crucial points to trace vehicles involved in hit-and-run cases".
Roland Martins, coordinator of Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (Goacan), says the reasons for the low detection rate is because there is no dedicated police cell to look into only accident cases, and the public is unaware that it can play an important role by noting down the number of the vehicle involved and passing on the information to the police. "We have demanded that the government form road safety and traffic management committees at the panchayat and municipality levels to create awareness among the general public. This is moving slowly," says Martins.
While the state has witnessed 475 hit-and-run cases since 2011, only 240 cases have been detected. While 209 of the 475 cases have been charge-sheeted, convictions have been secured in only 25 cases with 38 cases seeing acquittals. Pending trial are 144 cases, while 142 cases are under investigation, and 123 cases have been finalized.
On November 16, 2013, senior citizen George Rebello was mowed down by a speeding car on the busy Miramar road. The four-wheeler disappeared without a trace, leaving the 76-year-old to succumb to injuries. Till date police have not been able to trace the vehicle involved in the accident nor has anyone been arrested.
It isn't only civilians who are killed in hit-and-run cases. Traffic police aren't spared either. On March 15, 2013, a police sub-inspector attached to the Ponda traffic cell, Abhishek Gomes, 30, was killed in a hit-and-run case involving a truck near Bethora in Ponda taluka.
Speaking to TOI, deputy inspector general of police (DIG) K K Vyas attributes the low detection rate in hit-and-run cases to the accused speeding away from the spot and the details or description of the vehicle involved being hard to come by. He says while police control room (PCR) vans have been told to stay alert when informed of such cases, "we are also considering the installation of CCTV cameras at crucial points to trace vehicles involved in hit-and-run cases".
Roland Martins, coordinator of Goa Civic and Consumer Action Network (Goacan), says the reasons for the low detection rate is because there is no dedicated police cell to look into only accident cases, and the public is unaware that it can play an important role by noting down the number of the vehicle involved and passing on the information to the police. "We have demanded that the government form road safety and traffic management committees at the panchayat and municipality levels to create awareness among the general public. This is moving slowly," says Martins.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/goa/Hit-and-run-cases-rising-rate-of-detection-not/articleshow/39385323.cms
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