Speeding offence: File picture of a woman being fined for speeding

Mumbai, June 22: Rajneesh Sahu (name changed) slammed his father’s sedan into another car. The 14-year-old hit the fast lane just after a round of Bacardi Breezers. The hangover lingers.

Tapan Nanda, 17, stepped on the gas after three bottles of beer. He mowed down several people. The case is pending in court.

Both Sahu and Nanda were on joyrides — long after a drunk Alistair Pariera ran over seven pavement dwellers on November 12, 2006.

Last night, when 214 people were caught and fined for almost going Pariera’s way, the reactions of offenders showed little regret.

“I was at home after drinks. I went out to buy medicines for my children,” said one of those caught. Others also trotted out a bewildering variety of explanations.

Psychiatrists treating people involved in alcohol-related accidents say it is common for the wrongdoers to give excuses. Few show a sense of regret or concern that they are putting others’ — and their own — lives at risk.

“The young breed of offenders have no sense of guilt over what they see as small crimes. They know they will only have to pay a small fine,” says Dr Harish Shetty, who has been treating minors involved in drink-driving cases.

Sahu himself doesn’t think much about his offence. “It’s no big deal. Why should I feel guilty when people with crimes much graver than mine are going scot-free?”

“I can’t say I will never drink again. But I will avoid driving after a drink,” said Vikas Gupta whose Hyundai Verna was stopped on Carter Road last night. The 22-year-old owner of a liquor outlet was returning from Café Mondegar, a Colaba beer joint, when he was stopped.

The 214 fined last night were caught in four hours, suggesting many more could have got away.

The offenders, mostly from well-to-do families, did not flinch at paying the Rs 2,000 fine — the penalties added up to Rs 6 lakh — or the six-month bar on driving.

The numbers should be a rude jolt to the city. Till June 21 this year, 1,234 cases have been detected — up from 1,022 in 2006 and 1,176 in 2005.

But the offenders are anything but jolted. “They were shocked we were testing them. Some were even angry. They threw a fit as if we were at fault,” said a police official involved in last night’s raids.

Others were upset at the presence of the media. “This is not a TV show, how dare they conduct such raids,” one of them yelled as he was taken away.