Accident victim loses vision, gets ₹8.29 lakh as compensation

A man who lost his vision due to a road accident has been awarded compensation of over ₹8.29 lakh by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal.

According to the petition, the accident took place on the intervening night of December 25 and 26 in 2010. The victim, Shiv, was travelling as a passenger in a car. He alleged that the driver was drunk and hence, was unable to control the car, which rammed into the divider, jumped to the other side of the road and collided with a truck.

Shiv, who was 29 years old at the time of the accident, alleged that due to the accident, he suffered grievous head injuries and remained in hospital for days. Even after completion of treatment, he could not regain full vision. He sustains 45% vision impairment now.

During the proceedings, the driver and owner of the car refused to take responsibility. The insurance firm submitted before the tribunal since the driver was under the influence of the alcohol, it was not liable to pay the victim either.

The tribunal rejected all contentions and asked the insurance firm to deposit the compensation.

In recent months, many policemen have been killed and their homes ransacked by suspected militants in a warning to local police officials to stop participating in counter-insurgency operations.

Six policemen including an officer were killed in a militant ambush earlier this month.

More than 1,500 police personnel have been killed in the valley since insurgency broke out in 1989.

The slain officer is survived by his wife and two teenage children; his daughter is studying MBBS in Bangladesh.

The lynching occurred during the celebrations of Laylat al Qadr, or night of power, which commemorates the night the Quran is believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad.

In 1998, more than 20 Kashmiri Pandits were killed by militants on the same occasion.

It had evoked widespread condemnation like Thursday’s incident.

Chief minister Mehbooba Mufti described the lynching as “shameful” but warned people not to test the patience of police.

“Jammu and Kashmir police are showing restraint because they are dealing with their own people. But the day their restraint is breached, it will become difficult…I appeal to the people, there is still time…if the police starts giving a befitting reply…,” the chief minister said.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in a tweet, termed the lynching as “horrific” and said it marked a new low in the state.

Kashmir’s chief cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq denied allegations that he was present at the mosque when the incident happened. “We cannot allow state brutality to which we are subject to each day...snatch our humanity and values. What will be difference between them and us then?” said Mirwaiz, who is often accused of giving provocative speeches during Friday sermons.

The incident comes in the backdrop of mounting tensions in the valley that has seen violent clashes between police and civilians following several incidents of alleged human rights violations, including tying a Kashmiri man to an army jeep. nesses. He also has three sisters.

Pandith started his career as a sub-inspector in the 1990s. He was working as a DSP in the security wing of Jammu and Kashmir police and had been at the mosque post for quite some time. Many locals who frequent the area knew him.

Policemen posted in the security wing do not wear uniform as a matter of service regulation.