This is the second incident after the Dabolim accident wherein the driver was not driving the Mini-Bus and it was driven by the helper without a valid license. In the case of Dabolim, the conductor was behind the wheels who crushed the 30-year-old youth from Vasco under front wheels of the mini bus and in the case of Mandrem accident, it was the Loader who was driving the truck loaded with laterite stone, who apparently lost the control over the vehicle and rammed into the three bikes coming from the opposite direction killing 18-year-old Dipesh Sawant instantly.
In the police investigations, the driver had revealed the truth. He told the police that it was the loader Manguesh Nagaraj, a native of Karnataka who was driving the truck on a 22nd afternoon when the accident took place. It may be recalled that the truck driver Prashant Tuekar escaped from the scene after the accident took place and later in the evening he surrendered himself before the Pernem police. Earlier in the police investigation, he told the police that he was driving the truck and lost the control but when police interrogated the loader they found the discrepancies in his statement. but soon after police applied little more pressure the driver spilled the beans.
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The driver Tuekar told the police that the truck was driven by the loader Manguesh Nagraj, a native of Karnataka when the accident took place and that he gave false statement earlier to hide his misdeeds. According to the truck driver, the loader did not have a valid license to drive. Meanwhile, the Pernem police had arrested both of them for destroying evidence and misguiding the police by giving the wrong information.
It may be recalled that, in the afternoon of 22nd Diptesh Sawant (18), a resident of Siolim along with his two more biker friends was proceeding towards the Arambol on his two-wheeler (GA-03-S-0377) when an oncoming truck carrying laterite stones first struck to two of his friends two-wheelers and later hit on his bike. The impact of the accident was so severe that the rider got dragged for more than 10 meters till the truck came to a halt on the wrong side of the road. The mishap led to a traffic jam for hours on the stretch.
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Soon after the accident, the villagers started gathering at the accident spot and they started demanding the presence of the driver on the accident spot, who fled the scene after the accident. The irate mob stopped a policeman from moving the truck and they did not allow the media persons to click photos of the incident. The police tried to pacify the crowd, but they were not ready to listen to the police. Traffic along the road was also disrupted due to the accident. Pernem Traffic PI Sachin Narvekar rushed to the site and diverted traffic along another route. After pacifying the mob, the police removed the body and sent it to GMC Hospital in Bambolim. Pernem Police has detained the truck driver and is investigating the case.
The Pernem police had presented the accused before the magistrate for the custody. The magistrate ordered two days police custody for both the accused. This case resembles the case of Dabolim accident wherein the Mini Bus which crushed the 30-year-old youth Naveen Naik from Vasco while he was proceeding towards Vasco on his two-wheeler. In that accident too, the driver escaped and later surrendered before the Vasco police and told them that the bus was driven by the conductor. The cops wrote to the RTO to suspend the permit of the vehicle and cancel the driver’s license in that case.
The similarities in both the cases point at only one thing and that is the nonexistence of a system in the place. The drivers take things for granted and allow their helpers without the license to drive the heavy vehicles resulted in the death of innocent people on the road. This practice needs to stop immediately and it will stop only after one of them get the harsh punishment including the life imprisonment. The things will not change in the society unless the law has been implemented very strictly.
NEWS SOURCE : VARIOUS SOURCES | IMAGE SOURCE
