I met “Mr. I” a driver ( by
profession ) who spent some time in a county abroad.
He recounted a tough real
life experience he had in 1999-2000.
His job was to ferry workers
in a van from the labour lamp to the cement factory construction project site at a placed
called “ Ya……”
One
day, just before he was about return to India, he was Ferrying people in a
large van (like our MARUTI OMNI”. The tyres 2 numbers exploded and the van
turned turtle twice or thrice.
All were injured and admitted to
hospital. After first aid, the driver was arrested for the accident and lodged in the traffic
jail as an accused . The country follows an archaic, tribal, “eye for eye” type of rules, ten people in
the vehicle recovered fast and signed a “no obligation” for the driver who was
in jail for the accident.
The eleventh person lost
consciousness, had a surgery done, lost his ability to speak and was still in
hospital to he could not sign the NOC.
The driver was subsequently
shifted after one week from the traffic jail to the main prison. His personal
things were taken off from him. His hair tonsured and he was given a shirt and
a shorts. He spent 6 months in the main prison as there was no N.O.C. Nobody
was there to take him out. No bail was there. No enquiry. No forensic study.
Later, the injured person, who
was an Indian, was brought back to India, he was a bachelor and his mother on
humanitarian grounds, signed the N.O.C. This N.O.C was produced at the prison
and the driver got released.
What a horrible experience! He
was lucky that the mother signed. Otherwise still he would have been in jail
for no fault of his. [for years and years]
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