Who could have thought that the man who never caused an accident in his life, would die in a road accident. It came as a bolt from the blue and I haven't been able to sleep since then. I am shocked and I will probably never come to terms with what has happened.
What I have heard about the accident is this. There was a drunk woman who was driving on the wrong side of the road. She almost missed two bikers and then crashed into my dad's vehicle. My dad was driving safely and he broke no rules. Yet he was snatched away from us because someone decided to break all rules, drink and create mayhem on the streets.
This is absolutely horrendous. My dad has been working as a cab driver for a long, long time. He has been driving over 25 years and he has been the safest pair of hands behind the wheel. He has worked extremely hard all his life and he has never had any accident. Not even a minor accident. For someone like him to have such an accident is a very big shock for all of us. We cannot accept this.
I don't know what this woman was thinking. She is educated and she is a lawyer. She probably thought she can get away with murder. This is no less than murder. When she tells the police she drank whisky for fun, it shows how callous she is.
She might be a very influential person. She might have loads and loads of money. But that does not mean she can do as she likes. She is a lawyer herself. She knows the law. She thinks whatever she does, she can bend the rules and get away with it. That is shameful.
My father was driving safely. He was in the right lane. Yet today he has been snatched away from us. He worked hard all his life to educate me and take me where I am today.
The woman who caused the accident was drunk. She was driving at very high speed with blaring music and she was in the wrong lane. She drove for 11 kilometres like that. Where were the police? Should they not have stopped her? The police also have to ensure that evidence is collected in a foolproof manner and a watertight case is built.
What is also shocking is that we heard that she was happy to pay off and get rid of this scenario. She apparently said take the money and let me go. It does not make sense. Just because he was a cab driver it does not mean that he has no existence. It is nonsense, I am hoping the police will act fast and we will get speedy justice. We stay in the UK and it will be difficult for us to follow up all the time but I will ensure my father gets justice. That I get justice.
My worry is what are we going to do? He was the only one to look after my mother. I have no brothers and no sisters. I am the only one and now that he is not here, what do we do? What is my mother going to do after this?
Drinking and driving is irresponsible. Not just irresponsible, it shows an absolute disregard for the law. This happens because people have an attitude that in India anything can be done. That is the main reason why people think that drinking and driving is okay. Because they think, at the end of the day, If I have money and influence I can get away with it.
People need to change their attitude. I know there has been a conviction in a high profile case involving Salman Khan but now that this has happened again, this needs to be taken seriously so that other people learn a lesson from this. I really feel she needs to be punished.
What is done is done. We can't do anything now. She should not get away with this. No doubt about that. She should not get away with this.
My father was a person who has influenced so many people in his life. It is not just about him or about me or my mother. He made a difference to people's lives. She has not just destroyed her life but ours too. She has taken away our souls. It's not just one person, the entire family has been affected by this.
(Nilofer Saiyyed is an Occupation Therapist based in the United Kingdom. Born in Mumbai she holds two Masters Degrees in Human Resources and Occupation Therapy. Her father, a taxi driver by profession, was killed in Tuesday's drunken driving accident in Mumbai.)Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of NDTV and NDTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.