While reacting to the Srinagar road accident in which two minor students were killed yesterday, Regional Transport Officer Syed Shahnawaz Bukhari today said that he will write and request the police to invoke Section ‘199 A’ against the parents for negligence.
Bukhari said that Section 199A is a cognizable offense that cannot be compounded at his level, implying that the police must take action. He expressed confidence in the competence of the police force to invoke Section 199A against erring parents.
The RTO told the news agency Kashmir News Trust that underage driving is a societal problem that requires collective responsibility. “It is crucial for parents to understand the consequences of allowing minors to drive,” he stated.
Bukhari said that his department has always been tough on violators but emphasized that society must also abide by the law. “One accident should be enough to awaken the entire society,” he said, highlighting that this is not the first incident involving unlicensed minors.
The RTO stressed that parents must prevent their children from driving, citing the six-month imprisonment term for erring parents.
Meanwhile, SSP Traffic Srinagar city Muzaffar Shah has urged people to stop minors from driving vehicles. Shah emphasized that traffic police take stringent action against violators, seizing vehicles and taking action.
He appealed to parents, school teachers, and coaching center management to disallow minor students from using vehicles and scooters.
On social media, the majority of the netizens held parents accountable for allowing unlicensed, untrained, and unsupervised minors to drive. [KNT]
