Rakshit Chaurasia, the accused in the Vadodara crash that left a woman dead and seven others injured, may have insisted that he would drive the car and convinced his friend Pranshu to shift to the seat next to the driver, CCTV footage from before the accident has indicated.
The 23-year-old law student, who is from Prayagraj and has been studying at MS University, Vadodara, has been arrested and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder after the Volkswagen Virtus sedan driven by him crashed into three vehicles. Hemali Patel (35) died on the spot and seven others were injured.
A CCTV camera shows Rakshit and his friend Suresh reach the latter’s house on a scooter. Rakshit is seen riding the scooter as Suresh sits pillion. The two reach Suresh’s house around 10.30 pm on Thursday and Rakshit parks the scooter. The two then take the stairs to enter Suresh’s house. Rakshit is seen holding a bottle in his hand, but it is unclear what it contains.
About 15 minutes later, Pranshu Chauhan reaches Suresh’s house in the sedan. He parks the car outside and takes the stairs. At 11.25 pm, Rakshit and Pranshu are seen walking down and getting into the car. As Pranshu takes the driving seat, Rakshit walks towards him. At this point, an obstruction blocks the view and Rakshit cannot be seen. But Pranshu is seen talking to him before shifting to the next seat. It appears that Rakshit insisted that he would drive. The car then started moving. Shortly after, it crashed into three vehicles.
A video captured outside the accident shows the car’s front damaged and its airbags deployed. In the video, Pranshu says “hato tum” as Rakshit tries to hold him. Pranshu exits the car and says, “Pagal hai (he is mad)”. Rakshit then starts shouting “another round”. This is followed by “Nikita” and “Om Namah Shivay” before the crowd thrashes him. Pranshu Chouhan is on the run and police are looking for him.
Police confirmed that Rakshit and Pranshu switched seats. Asked if Rakshit had insisted on the change, Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar said it is a matter of investigation.
Rakshit has claimed he was neither drunk nor speeding and blamed airbags for the crash. “We were overtaking a scooter, we turned right. There was a pothole and the car touched the other vehicle and the airbag opened. Our vision was hampered and the car went out of control,” he told the media. “I was told that one woman has died and a few have sustained injuries. I want to meet the family of the victims, it is my fault,” he said.
The incident has sparked massive outrage and victims and their families have demanded strict action to prevent the recurrence of such crashes. Vikas Kevlani, one of those injured, said fines won’t prevent such incidents. “Fine is not the solution. Only if there is strict action will they understand what they have done,” he said.
Inputs by Mahendra Prasad
