Minor riding bike dies in accident, mother booked in Chennai

CHENNAI: In a trendsetting case, the Chennai city traffic police have registered a case against a woman after her son, a Class XI student, died in an accident in Thirumangalam here on Wednesday. Meena Venkatesh (40), a Mogappair resident who lent her bike to her son for riding without driving licence, was booked under Section 5 read with 180 of the IPC.The boy Akash (name changed) was riding the Bajaj Pulsar 200-CC bike with his classmate riding pillion to a tuition centre, when he banged on a pedestrian on Park Road in Mogappair. In this impact, the pedestrian was injured and the boy smashed against the platform as he had applied brakes to save the pedestrian.

As he was not wearing helmet, he suffered severe head injuries. But his friend managed to escape with minor injuries. The residents alerted the police and also the ambulance. The boy was rushed to the Kilpauk Medical College (KMC) Hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Thousand Lights, where he succumbed to injuries.

The Tirumangalam Traffic Investigation Wing initially registered a case under Section 304 (a) (death caused due to negligent driving) against the boy and later closed the case, as he died in the accident. However, the police registered a case against the boy’s mother Meena Venkatesh (40), a resident of Mogappair, who owns the bike and  gave it to her son for riding without driving licence. 

The case was booked under Section 5 read with 180 of the IPC against Meena. “We have not arrested her as she has to perform the last rites of her son,” said a police officer. This is the first time that the police have booked a case against the juvenile’s mother for having allowed him to ride without possessing valid driving licence.With minor drivers becoming a menace on city roads, the police had hit upon the idea of targeting their parents in a bid to reduce accidents. 

FACTS

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If the minors cause any accident, it will be their parents who will have to cough up the compensation,  said the Supreme Court