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A panel discussion examines a shocking road rage incident on Gurugram's Golf Course Road, where an aggressive driver rammed a woman's two-wheeler. Former IPS Special Director Yashovardhan Azad called the act 'open goonda gardi on the streets' and questioned why Gurugram police had not immediately detained the accused despite clear video evidence. Image guru Dilip Cherian emphasized the pervasive entitlement and male ego driving violence against women on NCR roads, highlighting the critical role of camera footage in exposing bullies. Citizens' rights activist Gaurav Bakshi underscored widespread fear among victims, noting that over 480,000 road crashes occur annually in India and demanding proactive AI detection and strict enforcement. Demanding institutional accountability, Azad stressed police independence: 'Give the police the operational autonomy. Tell Gurugram Police Commissioner, "You are there for three years. Nothing will happen to you," and immediately the police will become accountable.' The panel unanimously demanded zero tolerance and immediate criminal action.

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00:00I want to quickly cut across to our panelists because viewers, you know, is it road rage, of course, is
00:05it lawlessness, of course, is it somewhere down the line entitlement, of course, but it's also got to do with
00:13unbridled male ego that cannot handle rejection.
00:17One can go all the way back to the Manu Sharma case where Jessica Lal was shot because somebody pulled
00:24the trigger when a woman refused to serve him a drink.
00:27In this case, clearly, you could see the anger where the car edged into a bike because constantly this man
00:33was trying to get her to stop and she did not stop.
00:35The anger was that much that the person behind the wheel chose to actually hit her bike, which seemingly is
00:45attempt to murder if you actually corroborate and piece together the various video clips that are out in public domain.
00:52I want to quickly cut across right now to our panelists this evening.
00:55Joining me, Mr. Yashaw Ardhan Azad, former IPS Special Director, Intelligence Bureau, Mr. Dilip Cherian, founder, Perfect Relations, Gaurav Bakshi,
01:03Citizens Right Activist and founder, Help Desk.
01:06We'll also be joined shortly by Mr. Cyrus Brocha, Indian comedian.
01:10I want to begin with Mr. Azad.
01:12Mr. Azad, you know, what one can't understand, and maybe you can break it down for our viewers, why is
01:17it that no arrest or detention has taken place?
01:20One can understand that, yes, the victim in question hasn't filed an FIR, but there's enough video documentation that can
01:28enable the police that has filed an FIR against unknown person to actually file serious counts of attempt to murder.
01:37What's stopping the Gurugram police to take tangible action, sir?
01:42Well, there are a lot of things there which is very, very good.
01:51There's a problem with your audio, sir.
01:54There is a clear problem with your audio.
01:56We're going to try and just rectify that.
01:58Can we just rectify Mr. Azad's audio?
01:59And we're going to come right back to him.
02:01And I want to bring in Mr. Dilip Cherian into this conversation.
02:04Because, Mr. Cherian, as much this is about entitlement, about road rage, it's more about rejection and a bruised ego.
02:11You know, one can go back to the Jessica Lal murder case and nothing quite has changed.
02:15Indian men, maybe not just Indian, but the sheer fact of facing rejection bruises an ego to an extent where
02:22you will do what it takes to even scores.
02:27Entitlement, I think, is the big aspect of this and ego, of course.
02:32But also, it is mysterious to me why 24 or plus hours after the accident, the victim hasn't chosen through
02:42her parents, through her brother, to actually file an FIR.
02:46That is a missing element in this whole thing.
02:50The fact that this is a guy who's actually out to make a point and to actually physically harm her
02:57is visible from the video evidence that's already been played out.
03:02I think that the Gurugram police is not covering itself in glory by waiting for, you know, something to happen
03:11before they do this or even waiting for media pressure, which is anyway mounting.
03:16The fact is that we need to see two things.
03:20One, that the streets of the NCR region are full of unchecked bullies who need to be caught and immediately
03:29incarcerated.
03:30And the second thing is that the role that these cameras are playing, which is immensely positive, because without these
03:38cameras, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to actually see this line.
03:42I think this kind of thing needs to be actioned immediately and we must have more of these cases brought
03:51to Prushan.
03:53You know, I want to bring in Gaurav Bakshi into this conversation, because Gaurav Bakshi, you know, one can look
03:58at and question that why is it, Mr. Chairin raised the point, that the woman in question, who was hit
04:04by this car, all her family members, raised an FIR in this, you know, regard.
04:09Though she says that today, this evening, she will file an FIR.
04:12But why should the onus be on the victim here?
04:15Because clearly, you know, at one level, there is a sense of intimidation as well, that you might think that
04:21the people behind the car are, you know, the one behind the wheel is powerful to an extent that can
04:27harm you.
04:28The family could be intimidated.
04:30The police needs to step in.
04:34Piti, absolutely.
04:35So, this point that you've just made, the fear of consequences is what exists in the minds of the average
04:42citizen, particularly more so in women, because unfortunately, largely, the acts of intimidation, assault, etc., is usually targeted towards the
04:50weaker sex.
04:51So, in that case, there could be the element of fear which has not allowed them to come forward to
04:56file the police complaint.
04:58After they file the complaint is when the police can register the FIR.
05:01So, the FIR is the police's onus, not the complainants.
05:04But as you pointed out, it's the police's job to have, since they have Sue Moto registered the FIR, they
05:11could have automatically put the correct sections to allow for a harsher step being taken by bringing him into custody
05:18and questioning him.
05:20To set an example.
05:21Now, I want to just add a couple more points here.
05:24This is not an individual accident issue.
05:26This is conversion and use of a vehicle towards the attempt of physical intimidation and assault towards somebody else.
05:36It's not a simple traffic rule violation.
05:39So, we need to ensure that a harsher step is taken.
05:42Now, in terms of context, let's all understand, road crashes, as per MOT, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways,
05:504,80,000 road crashes have taken place in India in the year 2023.
05:54That's a very high number.
05:56That's 1,300 crashes per day.
05:58And this results in over 1,072,000 deaths in that year.
06:03So, we're talking about a huge problem across India and an issue that causes a very large number of deaths
06:12that needs to be addressed.
06:14So, coming back to the issue, one of the issues of ensuring justice and where we lack is detection.
06:22Surety of detection, surety of enforcement and surety of punishment.
06:27This is also what emboldens and accuses, in this case, possibly this person, to be arrogant, brash, and know that
06:34he will get away.
06:35So, we need to fix these issues by bringing in proactive detection through AI technology, which can be easily done.
06:42Why are we waiting for the woman's video to become viral?
06:45Why do we not have technology in place that detects it in advance and the police acts immediately in real
06:51time?
06:51We are today well-equipped to do that.
06:53So, we need to bring in this proactive detection, action by the police, and certainty of punishment and enforcement.
07:02You know, it's just because accidents happen, unfortunately, on the roads.
07:08But this is not really an accident.
07:10This, as much as road rage, and this is also a man who is getting back at a woman because
07:14she didn't stop when he asked her to.
07:16I want to bring in, I think, if we have Mr. Razad back into this conversation, I want to pull
07:20him in again.
07:21Mr. Razad, once again, you know, what one can't understand is the lack of cohesive action by the Guru Gram
07:28police.
07:29Yes, there is no official FIR from the victim or the family.
07:32She says she's going to file one this evening.
07:34There is enough documentary evidence to prove that this was more than just, you know, an accident.
07:41And if the police has taken Suomoto cognizance and filed an FIR against unknown persons, what stops them from detaining
07:48the man in question?
07:50Well, you know, the most important thing, Kriti, in this case is that this is an open, brazen, Gundagardi on
07:57the streets of Gurgaon, whichever place it is, Parvalla, whichever place.
08:01And this cannot go…
08:04This was golf course road, sir.
08:06Yeah, this is on the golf course road.
08:08That's the main road of Guru Gram.
08:10And the evidence, you know, preliminary evidence which you have shown, it should have been registered at least as a
08:17culpable homicide, not amounting to murder straight away.
08:21The second thing is that the person should have been called for questioning.
08:24The third point is, it's true that the woman might be taking, shoring up her defences first, talking to the
08:32lawyers, and maybe the person involved has got some kind of an influence.
08:37And this is extremely important.
08:38But to keep the confidence of the people, it was extremely important for the police for an important case like
08:46this to come out to the press and say exactly what they are doing.
08:50One thing could be that they are checking the authenticity of the evidence, that is the electronic evidence which they
08:59have, you know, joining up all the, you know, things on the CCTV camera so they can have a kind
09:05of a sequence.
09:06But I totally agree with you that in such cases, it should be a zero tolerance case because it involves
09:15a woman.
09:15It's not only, it's not only a road rage.
09:19I think it's much, much beyond road rage.
09:22It is something which is, which is an attack against a woman.
09:25It is open, Gurdagarthi, on the streets of Gurgaon.
09:29And therefore, the strictest action must be taken against this man who's talking so openly on the TV.
09:36I mean, I'm surprised that he has still not been brought in for question.
09:40I understood.
09:42That's the question, Mr. Razad.
09:43You know, I think for every viewer who's watching this broadcast is only asking one question.
09:48Why is it that the Gurugram police has not taken any action against this man yet?
09:53The police commissioner of Gurgaon should be held to account.
09:57He should be asked by the civil society.
09:59He should be asked by the press.
10:01He should be asked by the TV.
10:02What exactly has happened in the last 24 hours?
10:06And one thing is very, very true, Preeti.
10:08What happens is the case is registered.
10:10But if the victim or the woman is harassed thereafter, you will see what happened to this case later.
10:17And therefore, it's extremely important to pursue this, not only by the police, but also by the civil society, to
10:23protect this woman.
10:25You know, fair point.
10:26I just want to take in final comments and I want to bring in Mr. Dilip Chairwin back into this
10:29conversation.
10:30I know, Gaurav, you want to pipe in.
10:31But Mr. Chairwin, to pull you back into this conversation, you know, the fact is, a lot of, you know,
10:36the assumption is,
10:37because there is this unbridled ego on how dare you not stop, it's only about women.
10:42Well, not really, you know, there could be a man also at the back of, you know, of where this
10:46woman was.
10:47But the fact is, it just goes unchecked.
10:50The sheer fact that it has been now nearly 24 hours and yet absolutely no action that has been taken
10:56by the Gurugram police.
10:58You know, Preeti, this is the reason why we need to focus on stories like this.
11:03Why we need to focus on incidents like this.
11:07It is really a question of the safety of half our population.
11:13If they are going to be terrorized in this manner by Gundagardi, as Mr. Azad says,
11:19then we need to find that the police are acting double fast.
11:24You know, don't forget that Golf Coast Road has enough cameras.
11:28It need not have waited for so long.
11:31And the more you wait, the more the chances that people will find all kinds of excuses.
11:37You already see one trotted out saying that the car is owned by an army person who has lent the
11:43car, etc.
11:44None of these are at all, you know, issues which are germane.
11:50This is a bully, Gundagardi and actually an attempt to murder.
11:56Fair point.
11:57Gaurav, you wanted to come in quickly.
11:59Final points.
12:00You know, Preeti, what's very upsetting when I watch this video is,
12:04one, you could clearly see him coming from behind,
12:06crossing over into the lane of the motorcycle where the lady was driving,
12:10and deliberately coming into the vehicle.
12:12It's very clear it was deliberate.
12:14There's no two ways about this.
12:15Secondly, on camera, the man goes ahead and tries to justify his action,
12:20and in fact, justifies it by blaming the lady for erratic driving.
12:24It's unbelievable how brash, arrogant this man is.
12:27So, he's not doing himself a favor by claiming all this nonsense on television.
12:31I think this is a clear case of strict action must be taken against him.
12:36But, you know, but Gaurav, fair point, and I want to bring in Mr. Razad in on this,
12:40because he's not doing himself any favors, but nor is the Gurugram police by not taking any action at all.
12:46And, you know, for all our viewers who are watching this, the fact is,
12:49there is video documentation of what really happened.
12:53Imagine the number of cases where exactly the same thing or worse happens,
12:58while there is no video documentation of it.
13:00I want to bring in Mr. Razad back into this conversation.
13:03Mr. Razad, what really needs to be done, why the letter of law is to be followed,
13:08even though the victim in question does not lodge an FYR?
13:13Because she said she will this evening.
13:15It hasn't happened till now.
13:18As I have been saying for years and years, Preeti, on your channel also,
13:24give the police the operational autonomy.
13:27Tell Gurugram police commissioner you are there for three years.
13:31Nothing will happen to you.
13:33And immediately the police will become accountable.
13:37Otherwise, the police will remain accountable to the political bosses.
13:41That is the bigger issue.
13:44And I have mentioned in my latest book also, Policing the Republic.
13:48Clearly, this is the issue.
13:51I thank all three of you for joining us.
13:53Thank you, sir.
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