“Drunk woman kills two,” a seemingly ordinary, unattractive news in country’s frontliner media, isn’t it? On 30th Jan., Noorie haveliwala didn’t know what she was getting into, when she mowed over two persons, alledgedly under the influence of alcohol. Ironically, one of them was a policeman performing breathanalyser tests on a taxi-driver. They both were run down on that fateful night by 20-something Noorie driving down from friend’s party. Isn’t that enough of “evidence” for vigilent citizens who take time off to read news like this? But is it enough for the prosecution, is the story singularly pointing at the criminal, or does it have ample scope to raise doubts? Look at this…
The police says that they found unacceptable level of alcohol in Noorie’s blood from the tests carried right after the incidence. The blood samples had 457ml of alcohol, which is way above the legal limit of 50ml for a driver. But Noorie’s father, who is a physician himself, claims that for so much of drug inside the body, a person could barely be able to walk. His daughter, according to him, could walk even with her high-heels on! This whole incidence is framing his daughter who is mild, social drinker and never had an alocohol problem. He surmises that Noorie lost control over the car because one of the tires went flat. Her neighbours and friends presented “shock” to see Noorie being labeled as an “alcoholic!” These reactions from the family are misleading, but enough to give away the benefit of doubt to a woman driver.
Image: freedigitalphotos.net
On the other hand, the father’s accusations could be sound. In a country, wherein a DGP could force an upcoming female tennis-player to commit suicide, this after expelling her from the school, and implicating her family members with false charges. Clearly, the incidences such as false accusitions for physical, financial, or merely psychological harrassement wouldn’t be unheard. But what if the police is correct? In press statements by the police authority, the car has been mentioned as “reduced to the size of Maruti 800″, but none of its tires were flat! Then, a seemingly contradictory statement comes from ACP Himanshu Roy that Noorie made absolutly no attempt of fleeing the scene, even when she was in a position to do so. In a “position?” Does that mean that she was NOT drunk to come out of a battered SUV and make an attempt to run away from the scene? What’s that about?
Meanwhile, the woman in question has said in a recent statement that she rammed into the people becaues some other car was chasing her. It came in the media 4 days after the incidence (probably because of the hang-over), and after when police found 3 empty cans of beer inside the car and little spilled over the seats. It is so common in India that significant incidences involving serious charges such as this one or tiger-poaching, or buck-hunting, are simply dissolved in the misleading statements. The statements from the guilty, from the witnesses, from the victims, and from the authority itself, are so cliche that very often we forget the very seriousness, the ferosity of the crime, and choose to live under the deliberate, unnerving fracas!
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Excellent point raised Doc, are we loosing seriousness ! is in itself a serious question. how this case ends well we’ll hardly know as it may be stretched for years (out of sight of media) but incase this case faces a true trial ending in justice, then can we comment on ‘seriousness’.
Last year NRW court handed a imprisonment and no drivers permit (Life long) to a German Teenager, who had rammed his father’s Porche, on his first drive after his Drivers permit was issued, leading to death of his close Friend who accompanied him on the drive. Both were drunk and Porche was at 252 Kmph. His life is devastated but he stands as an example.
India .. making example is tough, Punishing is not what I mean, just wish that the court makes it point that those two deaths meet justice avoiding any further ‘accidental’ deaths
Thank you, Dagadu!
Well, delivering the sentence is still long way toward development. The first step, according to me, is that people realize the importance of speedy prosecution. The press statements and misleading is simply prolonging the process.
Very soon people will forget Noorie and her deed, and it won’t matter then to see her getting punished. “Justice delayed is justice denied!” If a cop is killed and his family is devoid of justice, where does a common man stand?
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