The collapse of an under-construction apartment building in Babusapalya, eastern Bengaluru, on October 22 resulted in a quick police case. However, in many cases of death by negligence, even filing a police complaint is hard.
Credit: DH FILE PHOTO
Bengaluru: Since 2020, Bengaluru has reported 707 cases of death by negligence, but only two resulted in a conviction, data accessed by DH shows, underscoring the difficulties that victims face in seeking justice.
As many as 378 cases are under trial and 155 under investigation. A further 135 cases were closed due to “false reporting”, while 62 resulted in acquittal, according to the data.
The deaths were caused by negligence related to roads, substandard civic infrastructure, rain-related incidents, electrocution and factory accidents among others. Every year, 10–15 per cent of cases pertain to negligence involving civic agencies.
Under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), death by negligence was punished with two years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the punishment has been enhanced to five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both.
The collapse of an under-construction apartment building in eastern Bengaluru on October 22, which killed at least nine people, received wide attention and resulted in a quick police case. However, in many cases of death by negligence, even filing a police complaint is hard.
In cases where a single labourer is killed, the victim’s family usually goes for “settlement” with the accused due to their poor financial situation, a police officer investigating the Babusapalya case said.
“A large number of cases marked as false reporting are also the result of such “settlements”. Complainants either don’t cooperate during evidence gathering or just withdraw the case,” the officer explained.
In many cases, “settlement” cases are eventually categorised into Unnatural Death Reports (UDRs). Almost all such incidents involve deaths at construction sites and factories. Proving a case of death by negligence is also not easy and involves a lot of technical work, according to the officer.
Saidulu Adavath, Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), explained that the word ‘negligence’ has not been well-defined, so distinguishing acts amounting to negligence is important and calls for careful investigations.
“When a complainant alleges negligence, we need to establish the acts that are actually negligent and then proceed with technical analysis to prove them.
Even a minor hiccup, such as the non-defining of a small act during the investigation, can cause the case to fall flat,” he told DH.
According to the latest data released by the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB), Bengaluru topped metropolitan cities in deaths occurring due to negligence from civic bodies.
A well-placed senior officer explained that getting prosecution sanction against a government employee is “nearly impossible” and securing a conviction “a pipe dream”.
In the rare chance that the government grants prosecution sanction, it’s only when the accused is a junior officer. Even when a death occurs due to clear negligence by civic authorities, it is difficult for victims to get justice, the officer added.