No police on your trail: Hit and run at will

Lucknow: Over the past week, three cases of hit-and-run have been reported in the city. However, police were not able to make any arrests or even trace the vehicle in any of the cases.

In the case of Gomtinagar Extension last Sunday, police lodged an FIR only 24 hours after TOI highlighted the issue. Seven days later, police have failed to make any breakthrough.

It seems that it is becoming casual for errant drivers to mow down commuters and go scot-free. All tall claims of smart policing are yet to be seen on the road. In the Gomtinagar Extension case, 18-month-old Adil was playing on the road when he was hit, dragged and later crushed to death by a black SUV on September 15. Police registered an FIR 24 hours later.

Neither have police taken pains to collect CCTV footage nor tried to trace the SUV. The locality where the incident took place houses many offices and banks. When TOI contacted Gomtinagar SHO Amit Dubey, he was unaware of the case. He said he would check with the investigating officer (IO) of the case. TOI then called IO Baleshwar who was on leave for four days.

Similarly, Saleem Akhlaq (36) died after a speeding white SUV veered out of Reserve Police Lines in Mahanagar and hit his scooter, leaving him dead this Sunday. Police could not make any breakthrough till Monday evening. Mahanagar SHO Ashok Singh said that efforts were on and that they have spotted a white SUV but its number was not clear.

In another case, 55-year-old Rameshwari of Machli Mohalla in Alambagh had died after an unidentified speeding truck crushed her at Mawaiya crossing on September 21. Alambagh SHO Anand Shahi said he had formed two teams but could not get any leads.