[hserus]

What expressway are we talking about here? This was some distance past Nandi Upachar, at a village gate (turnoff / entrance road to a small village off the highway).

Standard four lane road. This was another guy from a nearby village going to visit his relatives and speeding, according to the article.

Look at the road in this video. You will see lots of small houses, garages, tea shops etc on the roadside, local villagers riding on the wrong side, slow TVS50 mopeds in the left lane so someone trying to rip a Duke engine will swerve to another lane of course with no indicator used or looked for ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkSLxJrvUvI

Speeding on this particular road especially in the left lane is asking for trouble.

Originally Posted by deehunk

It is a sensible decision for the super biker to accept the blame and get away with minimum punishment rather than speculating about what was the girl and her father doing on an expressway on a Sunday morning. One observation from my experience, parents prefer to walk on roads keeping their children on a side in the line of traffic. I cannot say whether it is good or bad but it is better to keep children on a side away from the traffic. This looks to be a classic case of biker over taking from left side and child coming in the line of the biker.

[sunishsamuel]

I have been following this thread from beginning. Under no circumstance mob fury is justified. If the perpetrators are let go then it will just encourage mobocracy in future. At the same time if the rider who killed the girl is at fault, let law follow its course. But other than insurance claim and maybe a few years of prison (will have to prove/defend rash and negligent riding in court - challenge for police & defense lawyer ) what else will happen ?

Its unfortunate that the little girl lost her life, it will be devastating for the family. An emotional outburst is expected but it does not mean taking law to the hands.

Our "Accidents in India" thread is a good example of how most people over estimate their (vehicles) ability and end up in trouble. Think about it, isn't it the driver responsibility to anticipate and drive ?An irony here - the same public who flouts all rules (triple riding, wrong side driving, no helmet, no license etc) crying that they need justice when one of their dear family/friend lost life.

KTM is just an example, i see all type/class of two wheelers taking risks for no reason. Especially on busy roads. Instead of making these accidents as just another FIR and news report, i hope Root cause analysis is done, the 5Y technique used to make sure we can avoid/reduce such incidents in future. But then our priorities are always different.

Originally Posted by hserus

Why blame villagers for this?

The last triple rider I met coming down the wrong side of the road (cut across to the right lane of the road and take a right turn down the wrong side, then cut across that lane to get to the opposite of the road) was a typical middle class housewife with one kid standing in front of the activa and one kid sitting behind her. In the middle of one of the most well to do areas in Chennai.

She looked very shocked when I stopped after almost hitting her and rudely asked her just what idiot gave her a license.

Thanks, edited my post. There is no discrimination when it comes to stupidity.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

An irony here - the same village guy who flouts all rules (triple riding, wrong side driving, no helmet, no license etc) crying that they need justice when one of their dear family/friend lost life.

Why blame villagers for this?

The last triple rider I met coming down the wrong side of the road (cut across to the right lane of the road and take a right turn down the wrong side, then cut across that lane to get to the opposite of the road) was a typical middle class housewife with one kid standing in front of the activa and one kid sitting behind her. In the middle of one of the most well to do areas in Chennai.

She looked very shocked when I stopped after almost hitting her and rudely asked her just what idiot gave her a license.

[audioholic]

Such a disturbing turn of events. Total mess and lack of any civilized behaviour. Of course, a young life is lost which is not at all a good thing to happen. But what did that guy riding the BMW and Harley do to them to get thrashed and the bike vandalized? Be it whether the RC guy was at fault or not, but he did surrender to the villagers. Not like he ran away like in some other accidents. Even I have my roots in a village and have witnessed many such events. However, times have changed. The typical attitude of people in my village is that they want all the whims and fancies of the city, including cars and bikes, but their mindset still lies in the stone age. This is something which I had seen a decade ago, when a truck driver killed someone in my village. That guy was given the same treatment. Today, I see that things have not changed much.

We were really lucky, since me and Bhpian IronH4Wk decided to have a breakfast ride on Saturday in the same stretch rather than yesterday. Had it been yesterday, we might have landed into trouble for no fault of ours. Thats what made me furious. Tomorrow, if there is a hit and run by a car, and the villagers decide to stone all the cars coming on the way, will everyone accept it because of sentiments?

Whatever happened, it should be left to the actual parties to settle and do what they want with each other. Why should every random guy in the village come and hit every random bike? That is pure rage, jealousy and utter joblessness. Let the owner of the RC390, parents of the child and the police fight it out. I know that irrespective of what they do to the rider, the lost life cant be recovered. At the same time, going on a riot is not the answer.

I saw all the videos taken at the place. Hearing the locals speak, it can be observed that there are a lot of people telling the boys not to hit the other bikes or riders. These were the more mature souls who knew that they would get into trouble for that. And in one clip, the guys are still asking which was the bike that hit the child. Without such basic info, people go on riots. And the riders are hit even though they are not retaliating.

Such kind of a behaviour is not a sign of good things for sure.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

One key fact that is getting missed out is the lack of firepower with the police authorities.

The problem is the inability of the authorities to take control of the situation and prevent such mob activities taking a toll on others - not only were the other bikers harassed and damages done to their bikes, but possibly hundreds of travelers on that route were delayed. I

From my experience, in a typical village life, it is the local panchayat that still has powers. Even in this incident it is clearly noticeable that police could not keep the situation under control. The villagers are closely knit and usually know each other very well. Hence, if news like this spreads, it is a disaster waiting to happen. Though I have not witnessed road blocks in my village, the mob justice is something that is not new to me. My late grandfather was a headman and we would have such people brought to justice to him. Usually physical violence was not appreciated. They would be handed over to police and a settlement would be done. However, at the incident site the driver would have been manhandled in case he was at fault, especially because we had quite a few DUI related accidents sometime ago. Now all that is very rare.

The other angle is that the police would have been outnumbered. Imagine a group of 200 villagers out on the street which would need a bus full of policemen to control. They are not the ones who will listen to orders. That is why the term Lathi Charge is quite common.

Originally Posted by deehunk

This looks to be a classic case of biker over taking from left side and child coming in the line of the biker.

Sir, my humble request is to stop speculating what happened. The road is in such a way that it is a fairly consistent six lane road that hardly requires overtaking, forget from the left.

This was the place of the incident. You can notice that the section is dead straight, with a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the stretch.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Sir, my humble request is to stop speculating what happened. The road is in such a way that it is a fairly consistent six lane road that hardly requires overtaking, forget from the left.

This was the place of the incident. You can notice that the section is dead straight, with a pedestrian crossing in the middle of the stretch.
Attachment 1713921

I have seen all the developments on this highway from the days of a 2 lane NH without dividers to the present day, I have neither supported mob violence nor I know if the biker surrendered out of good will. I am also from a village and a mute spectator to the nuisance of youngsters on weekends. Just because the road is straight or there was no traffic we also cannot speculate that biker had no role in the accident. I will wait for the post-mortem report which will have conclusive evidence.

CrAzY dRiVeR, I am also looking for the pictures of bike involved in the accident. The denial is again not new in our country and it can derail the investigation.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by theredliner

PS It is due to incidents like this one that no one bothers to help an accident victim. What if an uncouth person comes and beats me up thinking I did it when I try to help a hit and run victim? I guess I would no longer blame people who look the other side when they see an accident victim lying by the side of the road.

Getting another version of the story from the KTM biker now. And its shocking to say the least. Disclaimer - Its passed multiple hands before I got it. Hence can't personally validate the authenticity.

He claims he never hit the kid. It was a hit and run case and they were the first to stop at the accident scene. Only 4-5 people were around at the time. However, the crowd that gathered afterwards started questioning them thinking those who hit were from the same gang, and the crowds that joined afterwards started beating him and destroyed the bike assuming its him. And he became the victim as more people gathered.

I'm not convinced fully, because the KTM is damged from the front like a head on hit - but totally sad news if this is true, and the real person behind all this escaped in the mess.

[tharian]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Getting another version of the story from the KTM biker now. And its shocking to say the least. Disclaimer - Its passed multiple hands before I got it. Hence can't personally validate the authenticity.

I am sure atleast one of these riders would have had a GoPro or helmet cam being in a group which would have caught the actual events.

[Trojan]

The above message can have 2 possibilities

1. The above message is true and narrates exactly what happened

2. The above narrative has been suggested keeping in mind the legal battle which will ensue

That aside the primary issue is lack or rather absent planning, no where in India do we see any efforts to make life easy for the citizens of the rural landscape. All of a sudden a mega highway is introduced splitting their village into 2 or creating avenues for earning leading to construction and other stuff around it.
Never have I seen any foot over bridge or an underpass made to facilitate easy movement of both man and beast. Forget that the highways are not even barricaded to prevent such mishaps.
Always reactive never proactive, the solution for this would be idiotic speed breakers which are more risk then safety.

I do not blame the kid at all, she has paid the ultimate price and left her parents a guilt which they might never be able to overcome.

Almost all super bike owners have the tendency to ride fast - well that's what they purchased it for. Everything is great until some day something like this happens and then there is no justification.

A human life is very sacred and important and is discussed, acted upon and closed possibly.
I sincerely hope that someday animal life will also be granted some importance in our selfish pyramid.

Every other day we see animals dead on the road, not just dogs, cats, buffaloes and cows but deer, antelope, jackals, foxes, tigers and elephants. Alas no one from there community is there to stage a protest for them or block roads or damage property.

Our highway planning is a tragedy.

RIP!

[hserus]

Originally Posted by Trojan

1. The above message is true and narrates exactly what happened

2. The above narrative has been suggested keeping in mind the legal battle which will ensue

This actually may be from one of the two innocent bikers who was thrashed as it talks about a gang or group of riders.

The newspaper article mentions a KTM rider from some nearby village who was going to visit one of his relatives at Chikballapur. So definitely not part of a group of riders on a weekend trip.

[audioholic]

This is the front of the bike. It does look like it has hit something.


That said, I personally hate the front design of the RC with that sharp wedge. Looks like the impact was right there since the wedge containing the DRL is gone along with the projectors. Which definitely makes me not to believe what the rider has said.

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by Maverick1977

Since I am not aware of all the facts I wouldn't like to take any sides but am pondering if the villagers reaction would have been the same if this involved a politicians car? Would they have thrashed the politician and every other politician passing through that spot. In all honesty there is a high likelihood that the politician would have not even bothered to stop.

Since you brought it up, let me tell you what would have happened in such a scenario. Villagers would have never dared to lay a finger on a politician , mainly because our politicians rarely travel alone. Like Colombian drug-lords, they generally have 4/5 musclemen/bodyguards in their butch SUV. And, even if villagers were to get adventurous, police will materialise out of thin air (surprisingly) and lathi-charge villagers and escort politician's SUV away.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by Trojan

2. The above narrative has been suggested keeping in mind the legal battle which will ensue

I do not blame the kid at all, she has paid the ultimate price and left her parents a guilt which they might never be able to overcome.

Almost all super bike owners have the tendency to ride fast - well that's what they purchased it for. Everything is great until some day something like this happens and then there is no justification.

A human life is very sacred and important and is discussed, acted upon and closed possibly. I sincerely hope that someday animal life will also be granted some importance in our selfish pyramid.

RIP!

How would have some of the members reacted if the biker was knocked down by a truck or an ultra luxury sedan? Obviously we would have had a discussion for and against the biker. Killing a girl is like killing a generation, I always advise rash drivers to respect the lives of others. The denial theory of the biker puts the onus on the single parent to prove the guilt, eventually it will be an out of court settlement.

pgsagar, the politicians can also ask one of their close aides to own the responsibility like the famous Bollywood star tried initially in the hit and run case.

If the troup members had a GoPro or helmet with a cam, they would have first released the videos before posting comments.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Tomorrow, if there is a hit and run by a car, and the villagers decide to stone all the cars coming on the way, will everyone accept it because of sentiments?

Mob fury needs no justification and a trigger incident like this can turn into a free for all. Forget cars or bikes, we live in a country where you may be judged based on your religion, caste, language etc... Those other bikers were at the wrong place at the wrong time - nothing more that.

[Trojan]

Originally Posted by hserus

This actually may be from one of the two innocent bikers who was thrashed as it talks about a gang or group of riders.

The newspaper article mentions a KTM rider from some nearby village who was going to visit one of his relatives at Chikballapur. So definitely not part of a group of riders on a weekend trip.

Agreed, but
If he would not have hit the girl then there was no reason for the bike to be damaged, unless - the crowd already went in a fury (unlikely)

I feel there would certainly be some videos which may not surface immediately.

Originally Posted by deehunk

How would have some of the members reacted if the biker was knocked down by a truck or an ultra luxury sedan? The denial theory of the biker puts the onus on the single parent to prove the guilt, eventually it will be an out of court settlement.

If the troup members had a GoPro or helmet with a cam, they would have first released the videos before posting comments.

It is ironical that in case if the biker was killed mostly everyone would have wholeheartedly blamed him for the same (rash rider, over-speeding, paid with his life, blah blah etc.)
In our country a rider can only and only be blamed for his own life ; for everyone else that he/she might knock dead it is never due to speeding but totally the victims fault.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by audioholic

Looks like the impact was right there since the wedge containing the DRL is gone along with the projectors. Which definitely makes me not to believe what the rider has said.

Could easily have been whacked by the mob right? Infact having had a highspeed accident with a car on the first day of my RC390 ownership, I can confirm that the drl housing is very tough. DRLs were still functioning on my bike after the accident. The bike had hit the corner of the car (an alto which started crossing the road from right to left) and the chin as such was slightly distorted, the plastic covering the drl on one side broke and this is after denting the rear quater panel, obliterating the tailight and its housing exposing nothing but bare metal, and prying the dicky door open from the corner all at unmentionable speeds so high, that after impact I had not fallen down due to the sheer momentum I was carrying at the time. For a small girl to have such an impact is highly impossible according to me, unless the speeds were high in which case we would be looking at some injury to the rider as well. This looks more like damage incurred by angry villagers constantly whacking the bike with a bat or something like that.

Ofcourse, I am no expert and none of us know the exact vectors involved in the crash so can't really conclude much, just adding to the speculation.