GURUGRAM: For the past eight days, sharp at 6am, Mihika Gupta steps out of her house for a 10km run. The run is an unusual one – a loop between the houses of the two teenagers who were in the SUV that fatally injured her husband Alok near Cyber City last year.
Sporting a white T-shirt with ‘Juvenile Driving Kills’ and ‘Justice for Alok’ emblazoned on it, Mihika says she won’t rest till the laws are amended to ensure stringent punishment to drunk and underage drivers.
“It’s been almost six months since my family was shattered and police are yet to file a complete chargesheet. The trial is yet to start. The owners of the SUV are out on bail. I am still hoping and waiting that justice will happen,” Mihika says.
On August 23 last year, a Ford Ecosport, driven by a juvenile with a teenaged friend as his co-passenger, had crashed into Alok’s Harley Davidson bike, killing him on the spot. The juveniles were allegedly under the influence of alcohol and had taken out the SUV for a fun ride after a party at its owner’s house on Golf Course Extension Road. After a sustained campaign by Mihika and her friends and family, police had invoked charges of culpable homicide against the juvenile driver and booked the vehicle’s owner. Both the teenagers and the owner were arrested and later released on bail.
Mihika says she wants the juvenile driver to be treated as an adult in the case and the owner of the car to be punished as well for allowing their ward to drive. “No child can drive 17km on the first day of sitting on the steering wheel. The day he drove the first kilometre, his parents failed to check him,” she tells TOI.
Mihika says her husband used to follow all traffic rules. “He was wearing proper gear and a helmet on the day of the accident. He wasn’t speeding either. Because of someone else’s fault, he lost his life. The accused are leading normal lives and nothing has changed for them, but our world was destroyed. I’m still coming to terms with the loss,” she says.
The sprint, Mihika says, helps her cope – it gives her grief and anger an outlet: “Call it aggression or a way to fight my grief, I decided one day to start this run. It’s my way to fight for justice. I wanted to spread awareness. What happened with me shouldn’t happen with anyone else.”
While Mihika runs alone on weekdays, she’s joined by other runners on weekends. “On Wednesday, the 10th day of the run, many people are expected to join from across Delhi-NCR. I have been getting calls and messages for it,” she says.
Demanding a change in laws, Mihika calls for severe punishment for drink driving, underage driving and speeding as such cases “put everyone on the roads at risk”.
Police commissioner K K Rao told TOI they were taking all steps required in the case, and two policemen had been suspended for laxity. “We will do our best to ensure the accused gets appropriate punishment as per the law,” he said.