The police have claimed that the number of road accident deaths in Mysuru city came down by four from 2016 to 2017. Though the statement issued by the police on December 31, 2017, does not mention the number of deaths, a statement issued by the city police a year ago had put the number of road accident deaths in 2016 at 100.
When The Hindu sought a clarification from the police, officials said the number of deaths on account of road accidents during 2016 was actually 133, but while tabulating the statistics last year, the “self-accident” cases, which accounted for 33 deaths, were categorised under unnatural death reports. In police parlance, “self-accident” is referred to the road accidents that do not involve more than one vehicle. In 2017, however, the police realised that “self-accidents” too had to be included in the total number of accidents. So, the total number of road accident deaths in Mysuru during 2017 was 129.
The statement issued by the police this year, curiously, does not contain the details of the total number of fatal and non-fatal road accidents taken place in the city. The total number of road accidents, including fatal and non-fatal, reported during 2016 was 714.
