Sins of the rich and powerful

Three recent road accidents this week in Karnataka involving high-end cars of the rich and famous once again draw attention to how spoiled brats who have no fear of the law, can turn out to be a menace to society. Mohammad Nalapad, the controversial son of the Congress MLA from Shanthinagar N A Haris, who spent over 100 days in jail two years ago after brutally assaulting a guest at a pub, is in the news once again after the Bentley he was allegedly driving hit three vehicles, injuring four people. The same day, Sunny Sabharwal, son of the owner of an amusement park, crashed his brand-new Lamborghini into a police chowki at a busy intersection in Bengaluru and disappeared from the scene. But what was more repulsive was that he had the audacity to return to the spot sometime later and click a photograph with the damaged chowki to send a message to his friends that he was safe. And now comes the news that a car belonging to a sitting minister’s son was involved in an accident in Hospet in which two people were killed.

The lifestyle of the children of some of the city’s super-rich, many of whom live on a heady cocktail of alcohol, drugs and other vices, is not just lavish but outright vulgar. With access to a bottomless pit of money, often unaccounted wealth, their sense of entitlement and arrogance is boundless. While poor upbringing and over-indulgence are often behind such reckless behaviour, what really emboldens them is that whenever they are caught on the wrong side of the law, all forces under the sun, including parents, politicians, police officers and sundry power-brokers join hands to bail them out.

When Nalapad had got into trouble the first time around, the then chief minister Siddaramaiah had tweeted, “Offenders should be punished to the full extent of the law,” while directing the police commissioner to bring the guilty to book. He stood by his word, and that ensured that the accused was not let off the hook. Indeed, Nalapad was out on bail when this week’s incident occurred. That should be the attitude towards all wrongdoers who, by virtue of being wards of powerful men, seem to believe that they can get away with anything. Public patience is wearing thin with VIP children who display a total disdain for the law. They must be brought to book, swiftly and visibly.