In October last year, a 15-year-old boy from Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur killed two minors with his rash driving. Despite the severity of the incident, there was no strict action taken against the minor at that time. Fast forward five months, the teenager got behind the wheel of his father’s Volkswagen Polo again and hit two other individuals, severely injuring them.
This incident prompted the police to finally arrest the teenager on May 21 and place him in a juvenile care facility in Etawah.
When NDTV questioned the delay in taking action, especially given the earlier deaths, the police cited the need to gather evidence, confirm the minor’s age, and the Lok Sabha elections, which contributed to the postponement. The timing of the police action coincides with the public outrage following an accident in Maharashtra’s Pune in which a 17-year-old driving a luxury Porsche supercar hit and killed two people.
The Kanpur Police have also initiated action against the minor’s father for permitting his underage son to drive, leading to the second accident on March 31st. The Joint Police Commissioner has confirmed that the father will be named an accused in this case.
The Joint Police Commissioner has also announced an investigation into why a charge sheet was not filed after the October 2023 incident.
(With inputs from Arun Agarwal)
