'Charging Jeskalur under section 306 IPC is injustice'

A Reporter

SHILLONG, Feb 15: An RTI activist and Advisor of the East Khasi Hills Local Taxi Welfare Association (EKHLTWA) Disparsing Rani today stated that the attempt to murder charge under section 307 of Indian Pel Code (IPC) against the driver (Jeskalur L Mawdoh) of the Sumo which dashed the vehicle in which Chief Minister Mukul Sangma was an occupant is unconstitutiol.

“The Chief Minister is a like a father figures to all of us and this was clearly a mistake by the driver of the Maxi Sumo Cab and the Chief Minister should have intervened and wavered any charges against the driver,” Rani told newsmen here on Monday.

It may be reminded that a Mahindra Maxx-tourist vehicle (ML-04A-3374) driven by Jeskalur L Mawdoh (25 years) dashed against the Honda Accord (ML-01-0001) driven by P Lyngdoh with the Chief Minister as occupant. The incident took place at around 1.30 pm when the chief minister’s official vehicle was on its way to the helipad at Upper Shillong. Informing that on February 14 he had given his statement to the police on the incident, he said, “I witnessed the Maxi Sumo was trying to avoid a collision with a scooter and that’s when it bumped into the Chief Ministers vehicle.”

According to him, the case registered by the security of the Chief Minister against the driver under attempt to murder section 307 of IPC is unconstitutiol since as per the law if there is any accident the traffic police department has to take charge of the incident but in this case it was diverted to the crime branch.

“The Chief Minister should have waited for the traffic department to reach the site and take pictures and inspect the incident,” he said adding that just because he is the Chief Minister he left the scene of the incident without even waiting for the traffic police to arrive on the spot and examine the incident properly.

He said if the court does not return back the case to the traffic branch then he along with the Taxi association will file a counter FIR against the officer Smith Mawkhniang who filed an FIR against the driver of the Sumo.

Expressing similar views, EKHLTWA general secretary, Wandonbok Jyrwa said, “The Chief Minister should have intervened and prevented the complain being lodge against the driver under section 307 of IPC since it was clearly a mistake and the driver is not a murderer but he is a person who ferry passengers from one destition to another.”

“We urge the Court to return the case to the traffic branch and if this is not being done then we will have no other choice to file a counter FIR against Mawkhniang,” he said.