Chandigarh man gets 4-year jail in road rage case

CHANDIGARH - In one of the first-ever convictions in a road rage incident, a youth from Punjab was Friday sentenced to four years in jail for causing serious injuries to a Chandigarh traffic police official, who tried to stop him.

Additional district and sessions judge Ravi Kumar Sondhi sentenced 22-year-old Gaurav Kumar, a resident of Punjab’s Muktsar town, after convicting him under Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code.

A fine of Rs.7,500 was also slapped on Gaurav Kumar.

According to police, Kumar was signalled to stop by traffic cop Satnam Singh April 7, 2008, at the traffic light point here in Sector 22 as he was talking over a mobile phone while driving his Santro car.

“Initially he slowed down his car but then suddenly accelerated the vehicle, hitting Satnam Singh who fell on the car bonnet. Instead of stopping the vehicle, Gaurav tried to run away from the spot,” a police official said.

“Satnam was holding the car wipers to save his life. However, Gaurav stopped after covering around 100 metres as the car hit the pavement.”

Police arrested Gaurav and his friend Vikas Kumar and booked them under various sections. Vikas was later acquitted by the court.

Legal experts at the district court here said this was the first conviction in a road rage incident in the region. Normally, these cases are solved by awarding compensation to the victim or through compromise between both parties, they said.

Every year, around a dozen traffic cops of Chandigarh are injured, when they are either hit by recklessly driven vehicles or are dragged along the vehicle by traffic violators, when issuing a traffic ticket.