[RX135]

The guilty should be punished, but I find it rhetorical to blame "rich spoilt kids" everywhere. The driver should be punished according to law, but then it should end there.

There must be numerous instances every day where drunken truck drivers or cab drivers crush pedestrians. At that time, it is accident by drunken driver. But, the moment the driver is rich, he becomes "rich spoilt kid" of a corrupt businessman, who earned all money by oppressing poor people. No doubt, it may be because many would use money power to escape punishment. But, then most others would try that any way. (This may sound offending, but our society has so many hypocrisies built into it). We have been raised in such socialist (semi-communist) environment that anything that rich person does becomes an act of evil and any crime done by poor is because of unfortunate circumstances created by rich people.

(Disclaimer: I surely do not belong to that "rich" society, so I can claim my views as fairly unbiased.)

[Ram]

Originally Posted by RX135

The driver should be punished according to law, but then it should end there.

... anything that rich person does becomes an act of evil
and any crime done by poor is because of unfortunate circumstances created by rich people...

Well put RX135! I am in complete agreement with you on that.
And our politicians thrive on spin-doctoring the continuity of this so-called "rich-poor" divide and the holier-than-thou perceptions, even to the extent of inflaming the "masses" when it serves their political ends.

Ram

[suman]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

We are talking 7 human lives, which in most probability would not have been snuffed out, if the guy at the wheel was not drunk.

When it happens in normal course, it is an accident. If the guy was drunk, then it is usually termed homicide.

I'm not advocating sleeping on the pavement but what pi***d me off was this guy's attitude post the incident & the arrogant way he was swaggering around - TOTALLY UNREPENTANT (for those of you who saw it on NDTV & a host of other channels), you wouldn't think he'd done anything apart from stamping on a few cockroaches.....I thought that was SICK

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by RX135

The guilty should be punished, but I find it rhetorical to blame "rich spoilt kids" everywhere. The driver should be punished according to law, but then it should end there....... We have been raised in such socialist (semi-communist) environment that anything that rich person does becomes an act of evil and any crime done by poor is because of unfortunate circumstances created by rich people.

Perfectly put RX. Too bad our newspaper reporters can't seem to think in the rational way that a responsible publication should.

I am sick of reading our newspapers saying things like:-
"rich spoilt brat in father imported car"
The car in question is a decade old Corolla which is probably worth 2 lakhs - less than the cost of a new M800.

"he looking arrogant, defiant and remorseful in court"
Since when did our journo's become an expert on reading human body language? Totally irresponsible statements.

We now have teams from Pune and other cities coming here to pretend to be on the side of the poor laborers. Give me a break. India is a country full of poor people, why would they have to pick the one case which would conveniently also gives them large scale TV and print coverage. Hmm...

Our entire system here is breaking down. But atleast we have live, up-to-date coverage of it!

[bmdesai1987]

Well when i was in new york... i never saw people sleeping on pavements. Because its a crime to sleep on pavements. I hav also seen people speedin more then 100kmpl after drinkin and gettin in deep sh*t, but no deaths after accidents. Because The cars, the roads, the rules ... everything works according to the system. The system rules. BMC, Instead of givin them medicals, provide them houses and work. i wouldnt mind govt. using our money in this things. suppose the accident would hav occured because of some failure in vehicle... the media would hav had a hard breath findin that the bad rich boy was drunk....

[suman]

Originally Posted by Rtech

Since when did our journo's become an expert on reading human body language? Totally irresponsible statements.

What was your interpretation of his general attitude then (if you did see the interviews etc)? Don't know about the journos but I can tell you that while the others were keeping their heads covered, seemed to me that our man was generally swaggering around looking completely unrepentant.

Not that I'm a psychiatrist or an expert on human body language

[Poseidon]

My heartfelt condolences to the bereaved relatives. May their souls rest in peace.
Reality check: Gentlemen, six of our innocent countrymen died in one the most civilised suburbs of this country due to negligent, drunken driving. The crime speaks for itself. To fault the poor pavement sleepers is plain uncouth of us Team-BHPians. Let us not belittle human life just because we never had to sleep on the pavement. I am sorry, but I see a strong undercurrent of class discrimination in the discussions here.

[Rtech]

Originally Posted by suman

What was your interpretation of his general attitude then (if you did see the interviews etc)? Don't know about the journos but I can tell you that while the others were keeping their heads covered, seemed to me that our man was generally swaggering around looking completely unrepentant.

Different people show emotions in different ways. One may bawl loudly and beat their head on the wall while another may show no reaction outwards. Who are you or I to judge what they are really feeling? Especially from a 5-10 sec. glance of a person you have never seean, spoken to or heard of before that moment.

You may make a statement on this forum which is read by a few thousand members of a niche community. When a journo makes a statement in print which is then circulated in the millions, the responsibility to make factual statements and not ones based on their own personal thoughts is the least thing which is expected.

I'm not trying to defend his actions here. But, having had an accident and seen how our police force investigate and make baseless reports, obtain witness statements from witnesses that do not exist and basically write anything they feel like, I speak from experience when it comes to this.

The fact is, this was an accident. He did not go out that night looking to kill people.
The fact is that there is no proof yet that the driver was drunk (heck, how long does it take to get a blood test report!!).
The fact is that there is no proof that it was not the mechanical failure that the driver said it was (again, innocent until proven guilty remember).
The fact is that if the BMC appointed contractors were told to give some basic living conditions to their labour, they would not have been sleeping on the streets and they would not have fallen victim to an out of control vehicle.
The fact is that it is not the "rich spoilt brat" that is getting away because the victims are poor, it is indeed our Govt. who turn a blind eye towards their own appointed contractors hiring cheap labour and giving them nowhere to live. So when you think about it, who really is the guilty party? Surely not just the driver.
The fact is that if you get over the emotional aspect and realise the bigger problem, you will see how truly messed up our system really is.
The fact is that even if the boy is rich and the victim's poor, the law should be the same for all. Reverse discrimination somehow never seems to bother people!

[bmdesai1987]

absolutely correct rtech....am with you.. why is everyone not believing the facts instead of pullin ideas of their own pockets... go ill treat the govt instead of that boy!!!

[Master530i]

If a drunk driver, how in the world would you defend him/her????....just can not get it....

[w 12]

Originally Posted by Rtech

The fact is that there is no proof yet that the driver was drunk (heck, how long does it take to get a blood test report!!).

I don't think so..here is the report

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/C...how/458640.cms

" However, blood alcohol level tests done by Khar police on Alyster and others after their detention confirmed that all six were in an inebriated state.

"The medical report from Bhabha Hospital clearly states that all six had consumed alcohol," Shivajirao Kolekar, inspector of Khar police station, Mumbai, said. "

he says he went to a party hosted by a liquor company but didn't drink any alcohol there..but stocked some in car to drink on their way back home....stretching things a bit too far IMO..

[w 12]

"Yes, some of us who were in the car that night are lying about the details of the incident,” said Kurt, who has been charged under the Prohibition Act and is out on bail. “We had some drinks at the party (at Taj Land’s End) that night. But is it a crime? I do not want to speak about it. Please go away,” Kurt said.:

http://cities.expressindia.com/fulls...?newsid=209759

[w 12]

Originally Posted by Rtech

The fact is that there is no proof that it was not the mechanical failure that the driver said it was (again, innocent until proven guilty remember).

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/N...how/447896.cms

Senior officers reported to additional commissioner of police Bipin Bihari that their preliminary investigations disproved Alistair's axle claim. The officers, with the help of experts from the regional transport office, reconstructed the probable sequence of events on the night of the accident.