Road Transport and Highways Ministry of India has increased the penalties for traffic rule violations across the country. Post imposition of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019, hefty penalties by police for breaking traffic rules have hit headlines.
But what's probably standing out the most is news of people behaving irrationally after being slapped with a challan. Some?either turn to bizarre excuses or directly jump to a suicide threat.?
Picture For Representation/PTI?
More recently, a Bihar man threatened to set himself on fire when stopped by cops for not wearing a helmet.?
According to an ANI report, the?man poured petrol and tried to light himself on fire after a fine was imposed on him for not wearing a helmet under the new Motor Vehicles Act in Bihar's Purnea.?
Twitter/Picture For Representation
"Sinha put petrol on himself and was about to ignite the matchstick when he was saved," said Rajesh Kumar, Traffic Inspector, Purnea.
"He did not give the fine and started creating a scene. After a while, he put petrol on himself and tried to ignite the matchstick. He was saved and was handed over to the police," the police said.
Mr Sinha said that he forgot to wear his helmet and he also requested the traffic police not to fine him. "I did not have the money. Even after repeated request, the police did not listen to me and imposed a fine of Rs. 2,000," he said.
"Due to this, I attempted suicide," he said, alleging that earlier he was sent to jail by the police and time and again he is harassed by them.
Under the amended act, violations such as drunken driving?attract a fine of Rs 10,000 and/or imprisonment of six month to two years.?
Not wearing a helmet while riding a two-wheeler can now lead to a fine of Rs 1,000 and disqualification of licences for three months.