Bengaluru Juvenile Justice court has sent two teenagers, who were racing their fathers’ cars on Hosur road on Sunday resulting in the death of their friend, to judicial custody. They will remain in the juvenile justice home until 21 September, traffic police said.
The three teenagers, according to traffic police, were racing at speeds of 140 km per hour on the elevated highway on Hosur road when they crashed. The deceased’s head was severed in the accident.
Bailable Sections, But Court Sends Message
Even though the police slapped only sections of rash driving or riding on a public way (279 IPC) and death caused due to negligence (304A IPC), which are easily bailable, the JJ Court ordered judicial custody.
The deceased, Arfan, 17, was the son of local businessman Saleem. The two other boys who escaped unhurt are Srinivas and Anirudh, both 16 years old. Their parents Govindaraju and Krishamurthy are IT professionals in reputed companies.
Parents told Cops to Ask for Judicial Custody
R Hithendra, additional commissioner of police (traffic), said that during statement recording parents of the teenagers themselves wanted police to ask for judicial custody for their children. “They said they were fed up with the arrogance of these teenagers. Although parents didn’t depose before the JJ court, the court took a decision to send them to custody,” he said.
Parents of these teenagers were also booked under Section 109 of IPC (abetment), but they were granted bail by the court.
Till August 2017, Bengaluru traffic police have booked more than 10,911 cases of racing, wheeling and zig-zag riding in the city. Additional commissioner Hithendra said that these stunts have become one of the biggest challenges for the traffic police. “We have asked our men to have special drives against racing, but it is a hard task for cops, who are already burdened with several other responsibilities,” he said.
Using Social Media to Fight Racing
As physical checking was not working, police had begun monitoring social media for posts related to drag racing and wheeling, to track down culprits. Apart from social media, police had also used several unorthodox methods in the past as well.
Couple of years ago, cops used to summon parents of drivers to police stations to create deterrence. Later, cops began impounding the vehicles and delayed their release by handing them over to the courts. However, the menace continued.
It is Parents Who Should Act
Hithendra said, unless the parents keep a check on their children, this problem can’t be controlled. “Several of these racers are minors and it is the responsibility of the parents to ensure that their underaged children don’t have access to vehicles.”
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