Court acquits Police officer for dangerous driving

APolice officer was acquitted last week of dangerous driving by the Magistrate

Court in Navua.

Rajneel Roy Prasad was charged with a count of dangerous driving after he had allegedly crashed the Police vehicle registered GQ 441, on February 14, 2019. The alleged incident took place in Yarawa, Navua.

It was alleged that the accident was due to human error.

After the prosecution had presented three witnesses in court, defence lawyer Jeetendra Reddy filed an application for a no case to answer and for his client to be acquitted. Magistrate Thushara Thenakoon said there was no evidence that the accident was caused by Mr Prasad.

He said the prosecution had failed to prove the elements of the offence beyond reasonable doubt that Prasad had driven the car at a speed exceeding 100 kilometres per hour.

“In my view, it requires more than imagination to prove the accused’s culpability,” he said in his ruling.

Defence lawyer Mr Reddy had stated that the fault was mechanical and this was the version accepted by the court.

Mr Prasad was acquitted and the Prosecution has 28 days to appeal.

Rajneel Roy Prasad (left) was acquitted by the Navua Magistrates Court on June 4, 2020, for dangerous driving. His lawyer, Jeetendra Reddy, is on the right.