The judgement disappointed the kin of the victims who were mowed down by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) driver on January 25, 2012.
The Supreme Court's decision to commute Santosh Mane's death sentence to life imprisonment might have given him a new lease of life. However, the judgement disappointed the kin of the victims who were mowed down by the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) driver on January 25, 2012.
On that fateful day, Mane had hijacked a bus from Swargate bus depot, drove on the wrong side of the road and went on a rampage, killing nine and injuring nearly 30 persons before he was accosted by some citizens and police.
After the lower court awarded him the death penalty, the decision was challenged in the SC. The SC on Wednesday commuted his death sentence into life imprisonment. Dhananjay Mane, one of the lawyers of the accused said, "We had argued in the court that Mane was mentally unstable and his act was out of insanity. The court has accepted our argument and commuted his death sentence into life imprisonment."
The kin of the deceased and the persons who sustained injuries after Mane knocked them down are disappointed with the judgement. Sneha Pise whose son Akshay was one of the nine deceased told DNA, "I am shocked with the judgement. The court should reconsider its judgement."
"Akshay was 20-year-old when he was killed. Had he been alive today, he would have been earning for the family. Mane took away our son, he has shattered our lives," Pise added.
Tanaji Kale, a rickshaw driver who was among the first persons to be knocked down by Mane near Swargate depot. He sustained injuries to his leg and stomach in the incident. Speaking to DNA Kale said, "I was standing at the Swargate ST gate when Mane drove the ST bus from the wrong side and knocked me and my friend down before entering heading to Shankar Sheth road. This incident has left me permanently disabled. Now I can not drive the rickshaw and the entire responsibility of running the house has landed on the shoulders of my son who is still very young."
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