PANAJI
The Goa Police have been busy tackling fatal accidents with an “impressive” track record of acquittals. While hundreds have lost their lives to 675 fatal accidents since 2020, there’s a notable rise in acquittals with over 400 cases still pending trial.
According to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s reply to the starred question by MLA Digambar Kamat, 2020 saw 22 acquittals and three convictions in all cases of accidents. Not to be outdone, 2021 saw 10 more acquittals and just one conviction. The trend continued in 2022 with four acquittals and two convictions.
As for 2023 till date, the suspense is palpable with 158 cases pending trial and not a single order pronounced yet. In all, 469 cases have been pending trial in various MV Courts over the past five years. A maximum of 143 cases in 2022 are under trial, 128 in 2023 while 97 trials are under consideration since 2021, 77 trials in 2020 and 28 in the current year till mid-June.
The State has also seen a disturbing trend of fatal accidents each year with 125 cases in 2020, 121 in 2021, 174 in 2022, 158 in 2023 and 97 in the current year up to mid-June.
The suspension of drivers’ licences involved in major fatal accidents has also been relatively low with only 45 suspensions ordered by the Transport Department. A maximum of 15 licences were revoked in 2022, followed by nine suspensions each in 2020 and 2021, seven in 2023 and five suspensions up to June 15, 2024.
The State has identified 27 accident-prone zones and 35 black spots, though it remains unclear what rectification measures the Public Works Department (PWD) has implemented. “The identified zones and spots have been forwarded to the PWD for necessary road improvements,” CM replied to another question about the steps taken by the government to prevent accidents.
