The ongoing protests by truck drivers at many places in Maharashtra against the new hit-and-run law have triggered panic-buying among two-wheelers and four-wheelers, prompting long queues outside petrol pumps. Long queues were seen outside petrol pumps in Nagpur, Thane, Jalgaon, and Dhulia as people waited for their turns to fill the tankers of their vehicles, visuals showed. 

Local police rushed to the sites and cleared the blockades in Nagpur, videos showed.

Some petrol pumps in Nagpur district have already run out of stock with the managers at the pump saying that if the situation remains unchanged, they may have to put up a “No Petrol” display board. In Nashik, tanker drivers stopped work and parked more than 1,000 vehicles in Panewadi village, home to fuel depots, on Monday.

#WATCH | Maharashtra: Long queues at petrol pumps in Nagpur as Transport Association, drivers protest against new law on hit and run cases. pic.twitter.com/FWgQd1F5iH

— ANI (@ANI) January 2, 2024

The shortage of fuel has prompted the closure of three petrol pumps in Thane.

Nashik District Petrol Dealers Association has warned that if the agitation is not called off then many fuel stations in Nashik district will run dry, reported news agency PTI.

“Petrol was supplied to 150 petrol pumps in Mumbai last night. However, due to panic buying people are buying more petrol than what is required, making it difficult to maintain the stock of petrol. It will be difficult if there is no supply of petrol in the coming days,” Keyur Parikh, Mumbai’s Petrol Pump Association dealer said.

Meanwhile, an association of petrol pump dealers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar city in the Marathwada region said fuel pumps in the district may go dry by Tuesday if the situation does not normalise, PTI reported.

In Thane, drivers blocked traffic on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and threw stones at the police personnel, injuring a cop.

Similar scenes were witnessed in Navi Mumbai when a policeman was injured as a group of truckers attacked him,  prompting police to use force to disperse the mob, police told PTI.

A video of the incident shows a group of men, armed with sticks, attacking the policeman and chasing him away. Similar agitations were also held on the Uran-Nhava Sheva Road in Raigad district on the border of Mumbai.

Under the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which replaced the colonial era Indian Penal Code, drivers who cause a serious road accident by negligent driving and run away without informing the police or any official from the administration can face punishment of up to 10 years or a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

Fuel pumps in several states are witnessing long queues over the past couple of days. No, this is not a rush to fill up tanks before prices go up. This is panic buying amid apprehensions that the truckers’ protest against the soon-to-be-implemented criminal code will hit supply. If the protest drags on, it may hit supply of other essential supplies too. 

Why Are Truckers Protesting

Protests have broken out in several states, including Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, against the high penalties for hit-and-run accidents in Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which is set to replace the colonial-era Indian Penal Code.

Under the new law, hit-and-run cases can attract up to 10 years in jail and a fine of Rs 7 lakh. Truckers, cab drivers and others operating commercial vehicles are asking how they would pay such a high fine in the event of an accident. Happy Sidhu, president of All Punjab Truck Operators’ Union, called the new law a “black law” that will destroy truckers in Punjab.

Protest Hitting Supply Lines

Drivers of thousands of tankers that transport fuel to pumps are part of the protest. With them joining the strike, fuel crisis has already gripped several cities and other urban centres fear a similar situation in the coming days. An association of petrol pump dealers in Aurangabad have said fuel pumps in the district may go dry by Tuesday.

“Drivers of tankers that carry fuel from Panewadi (in Nashik) have called for agitation and have stopped filling fuel,” Aqeel Abbas, secretary of the association, told news agency PTI. At Himachal in the north, the strike has already hit the tourism sector. Local media reports have said tourists are struggling to find vehicles after cab operators joined the strike against the new law.

Anil Garg, president of Maharashtra school bus owners’ association, said school buses would operate till they run out of diesel. “If diesel supply stops, school buses will stop too.”

Protests From Patna To Pune

Tyres were burnt and roads blocked in Patna as truck operators raised slogans against the new law, questioning who will feed their families if they stay in jail for 10 years. In Navi Mumbai, a group of truckers attacked a policeman early this morning. The cops had to use force to disperse the mob on Mumbai-Bengaluru highway, PTI reported.

In Thane, the protesters blocked Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway and threw stones at police. A policeman was injured and a police vehicle damaged. At Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, private bus and truck drivers blocked the Pitampur highway. Protests were held in Bhopal and Chhattisgarh capital Raipur too.

What Are Protesters Saying

Explaining why they are protesting, Bhopal cab driver Gyansingh Yadav broke down. “People like me who drive cabs for a living still go home at night. But truck drivers often don’t meet their loved ones for 15 days or more. We are not against any government or law, but I feel some amendments should be made, especially with regard to the penal provisions against drivers. The new law attracts a 10-year prison term for errant drivers. I feel it should be reduced to 1-2 years,” he told news agency ANI.

At Raipur, a bus driver said, “We are poor people. Penal action should be taken against the owners of our vehicles. This law is unfair on us. We will continue to be on strike till our demands are met.”

At Aurangabad in Maharashtra, truck driver Syed Wajed said, “We are drivers, how can we pay such a huge fine?”

What’s The Law, What’s The Change

Hit-and-run accidents and death due to rash driving is covered under the law for causing death by negligence. In the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The law, which has received the President’s assent after it cleared Parliament, has two clauses under Section 104. “Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,” says the first clause.

“Whoever causes death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide and escapes from the scene of incident or fails to report the incident to a Police officer or Magistrate soon after the incident, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description of a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine,” says the second.

Currently, hit-and-run accidents are covered by IPC’s Section 304A. “Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both,” it states.

The New Year started with massive traffic jams and long queues at petrol pumps, with citizens taking to social media to share images and videos. In some cities, ambulances were stuck in traffic for hours. The cause: a nationwide protest against the new hit-and-run law by truck drivers.

Drivers on Monday launched a three-day protest, blocking highways and several other key roads across the country. Not only have the protests led to traffic jams but fears that fuel may soon run out has prompted citizens to rush to their nearest petrol pump.

Chaos at petrol pumps across India for refueling amid #TruckDriversProtest; All India Motor Transport Congress to meet today.@ghazalimohammad with more details on the story. pic.twitter.com/C1wVTBVa5t

— NDTV (@ndtv) January 2, 2024

The truck drivers are voicing dissent against the hit-and-run law in the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the criminal code that will replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The new law has raised the penalty in road accident cases to up to 10 years. In the Indian penal code, accidentally killing a person in a road accident had a maximum jail term of 2 years.

“Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine,” states the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

If the offender escapes or fails to report the incident immediately, the imprisonment term can extend up to ten years, along with a fine of Rs 7 lakh.

The protesting truck drivers believe that the new law is draconian and biased against larger vehicles.

“As per the new law, the hit-and-run cases can attract up to 10 years jail term and a fine of Rs 7 lakh. We are drivers, how can we pay such a big fine amount?,” says Syed Wajed, a tanker driver protesting in Maharashtra.

The protesters have also expressed concern about potential mob violence against drivers who choose to transport the injured to hospitals.  

The drivers participating in the strike include truckers, private bus drivers, and even government bus drivers in some cases. On social media, people have claimed that cab drivers have also joined the protest in some states.