Drivers of commercial vehicles, including trucks and tankers staged protests in several parts of the country against the new law regarding hit-and-run cases on Monday. The Central government recently changed the colonial-era criminal laws increasing jail terms in hit-and-run cases. The move triggered truckers’ protests across the country.
What the new law says
Under the new law, the jail term increased from up to two years to up to ten years for the drivers if they run away from the accident spot.
As per the new law, hit-and-run cases can attract a 10-year jail term and a fine of Rs 7 lakh, said Pramod Sikarwar, who was protesting at Board Office Square in Bhopal.
“The new law is against the interest of drivers. Drivers don’t want to kill anybody, but accidents happen. In such cases, people turn against the driver. We demand that the new law be amended,” he said.
The commercial drivers have been objecting to the amendment in Section 304A of the IPC (causing death by negligence) since its commencement.
While road blockades were seen in some places in the country due to protests by drivers, long queues were witnessed at some petrol pumps due to panic over fuel supply.
In Bhopal, drivers staged an agitation at Lalghati and stopped city buses and vehicles, and some protestors also gathered at Board Office Square in MP Nagar.
In Indore, buses were parked on the road at Gangwal bus stand as part of the protest.
“The new law in hit-and-run cases will apply to all vehicles and not to tankers or trucks alone. There are problems at some places and people are scrambling to store fuel in panic,” said Ajay Singh, president of the Madhya Pradesh Petroleum Association.
Truck drivers block NH 2 in Bengal
On new year-eve, hundreds of truck and commercial vehicle drivers protesting the new penal laws for hit-and-run cases blocked the national highway number 2 near Dankuni toll plaza in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Sunday for around two hours, police said.
They started blocking the road at around 10.30 am at Chanditala by burning tyres and parking their vehicles in the middle of the road, the police said.
Senior police officers from Chanditala and Dankuni police stations rushed to the spot to persuade truck drivers to lift the blockade.
The police cleared the road blockade and the movement of vehicles started at 12.50 pm, an officer said.
(With PTI inputs)