Hyderabad: Hit-and-run cases registered a big jump in the city and outskirts this year despite improvement in road surveillance. While on an average, eight hit and run cases were reported in the twin cities each month earlier, now there are around 12 such cases in Cyberabad (mostly outskirts) each month.
Most of these accidents happen at night and the vehicles involved are cars or heavy vehicles. Cops say that if the public is ready to cooperate with law enforcement agencies, many hit and run cases can be detected. They said that most victims of hit and run cases do not get justice.
The number of hit-and- run cases is higher on the outskirts compared to other areas of the city. “It is easier for a killer driver to get away from the mishap spot on the outskirts, especially at night. Illumination and surveillance are poor on highways on the outskirts. This is the main reason for the increased number of hit and run cases,” said a senior traffic cop from Cyberabad police.
The victims of hit-and- run cases have very less chance of getting compensation be it vehicle insurance or other financial help. “In most cases vehicle insurance is denied in hit-and-run cases as the involved vehicle is not known.
The insurance company usually recover money from the vehicle owner responsible if the compensation decided by court is higher than liability. In hit-and-run cases there are no chances of recovering money from the accused.
And most claims are outrightly denied,” said a senior advocate from High Court.
Though clear statistics are not available, the police admit that detection rates in hit and run cases are low. Most of the cases remain undetected without witnesses or clues. Senior cops say the detection rate is less than 12 per cent in both commissionerates.
The main reason for the low rate of detection is that most of the involved vehicles are from other districts and states. It is difficult for cops to track down vehicles from other states when they are involved in hit and run cases.
