PANAJI
Of the recovered fine amount, the Court has directed `10,000 to be paid to the next of kin of the deceased and Rs 2,000 each to be paid to the injured witnesses in the case.
The accused, Nadaf, is also disqualified from holding any driving license for driving four-wheeler for a period of one year. The chargesheet stated that on October 31, 2012 at around 3.30 pm, Nadaf drove a minibus callously and while overtaking another bus dashed on an oncoming petroleum tanker at Konnem, Priol in Ponda. The tanker fell in the valley and turtled. Upon impact, one Pratiksha Shamba Dessai, who was seated in the bus cabin, sustained grievous injuries when she fell out of the bus while 17 other passengers were also injured. Dessai succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment at GMC.
There are two consequent turns near the accident spot and the road is curved. The accident occurred on one of these turns. Ponda police had booked Nadaf for rash driving or riding on a public way, culpable homicide not amounting to murder and endangering life or personal safety of others. “It is fortunate that the bus did not meet the same fate as the tanker, and the passengers who were injured had a providential escape. The accused is a professional driver and no leniency can be shown to him,” reads the judgment.
The prosecution examined 25 witnesses in support of its case to prove that the accused acted with the knowledge that it would cause death though without any intention of causing death or grievous injury. Of the two passengers permitted by the driver to sit in the cabin, one lost her life. In his defence, the accused stated that he was driving very slowly and that it was the tanker which came from the opposite direction and dashed his bus. However, in their testimony, several injured passengers stated that not only was the driver maneuvering the vehicle at a fast speed, but that he also overtook another bus while it was in motion and hence, was on the wrong side of the road when the bus dashed against an
oncoming tanker.
