A change in the colonial-era criminal laws increasing jail term in hit-and-run cases has triggered truckers' protests across the country. Under the new law, drivers can be jailed for up to 10 years for fleeing and not reporting a fatal accident. Earlier, the accused could be jailed only for up to two years under Section 304A of the IPC (causing death by negligence).
Private bus operators have gone on strike today in Haryana's Jind while those running autos too have opened a new front against the new law. The truckers allege the new law will discourage drivers from their duty and also prevent new ones to take up the job.
The transporters say no one causes accidents intentionally and the drivers fear of being thrashed by a mob if they try to take the injured to hospital, demanding that the "black law" be repealed.
They also expressed fear that if an accident happens due to the fog, the driver will be punished for 10 years without any fault of his.
Similar demonstrations erupted in Lucknow where bus drivers too joined the truckers in their protest against the new law. Truck and tanker drivers staged protests in parts of Madhya Pradesh too. Yesterday, some truckers had blocked NH-2 in West Bengal's Hooghly district to protest the new law.
Drivers fear being roughed up by locals after accidents and therefore, they try to flee such situations without reporting them to the authorities. Lengthy procedures involving the police are another reason that discourage them to take the legal route.
The Bharatiya Nyaya (Second) Sanhita, 2023 replaced the British-era Indian Penal Code last year in an attempt to simplify and Indianise the criminal laws.
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