Bangalore:
In 2010, over 321 people died in accidents in Bangalore. Amongst them was Lakshmi Narasimhaiah, a traffic cop on duty on National Highway number 7 on New Year's Eve. His job was to check drunken drivers who might be speeding down the highway after a party.
Narasimhaiah was mowed down by an over speeding car, just after he had wished his wife Muniratna happy birthday.
After Narasimhaiah's death, life has come to a standstill for Muniratna and her four children.
"He never used to apply for leave, he would go to office, come back home and this was his routine. He wanted to get his girls married, but he wasn't getting leave," she said.
With the family yet to get the entire compensation amount, Narasimhaiah's son Prakash has discontinued his diploma course. His eldest child, Sujatha, is looking for a job so that she can support the family.
"I can't believe it even now... my father never drove rashly... he would drive so slowly. Many people drive fast due to a certain 'craze', but they don't think how many lives they spoil and destroy because of over speeding," she said.
"Time has come when we need a judicial consensus, that if a person is driving under the influence of liquor or over speeding at 120/150, he is quite aware of the consequences of his action. So drunken driving is illegal act, still people do it and kill somebody, it is not rash driving alone but it is culpable homicide," said Praveen Sood, Additional Police Commissioner (Traffic), Bangalore.
While the police try to book rash drivers under stronger laws, instances such as these continue to snuff out precious lives and leave behind shattered families.