LUCKNOW: The high-profile Lamborghini accident case took a dramatic turn in Kanpur on Wednesday when the man claiming to be the driver of the vehicle surrendered before a court in the afternoon, while the complainant, Mohammad Tausif, reached a compromise in the matter.
Accompanied by his lawyer, Tausif appeared in court and stated that the Lamborghini was being driven by Mohan, not by Shivam Mishra, the leading tobacco baron’s son, who was earlier accused.
Mohan reportedly told the court that he was driving Shivam Mishra’s car at the time of the accident. He claimed Shivam had suffered a seizure, causing panic inside the vehicle.
However, the issue took another twist when the Kanpur district court rejected the surrender application filed by the 45-year-old driver who claimed he was driving the luxury car when it allegedly rammed into several vehicles and injured half a dozen persons on Sunday evening.
Prosecuting Officer, Kanpur, Nagendra Kumar Mishra, said two applications were considered on Wednesday.
In the first application, the driver, Mohan M, sought to be taken into judicial custody in connection with the case registered in the matter.
In the second application, a plea was filed seeking the release of the seized vehicle.
The court declined to take Mohan into custody, observing that police had stated he was neither wanted in the case nor had his name emerged during the probe.
According to the Prosecuting Officer, the police, in their report, told the court that Shivam was driving the vehicle when the accident occurred.
With regard to the application seeking the release of the seized vehicle, the court directed the police to submit the technical examination report.
"It also instructed the vehicle owner to furnish all relevant documents related to the vehicle to the investigating agency for verification before any further consideration of the plea", added Nagendra Mishra.
The police authorities, on their part, claimed that the technical examination of the vehicle had not been done so far. However, it has been three days since the crash happened in Kanpur.
The Lamborghini Revuelto, an Italian luxury sports car worth over Rs 10 crore, rammed into pedestrians on VIP Road, injuring six persons in Kanpur’s Gwaltoli area around 3 pm on Sunday.
“I got nervous and couldn’t understand what to do. That’s when the accident happened,” Mohan said, adding that after the car’s window was broken and the door opened, he slipped out from below, while a bouncer pulled Shivam out of the vehicle.
He said he stood aside after the crash, and Shivam was later taken away in another car.
“We all know how to drive,” he added.
On the other hand, Shivam Mishra’s lawyer, Narendra Kumar Yadav, said that the injured complainant had settled with the driver.
“The complainant has identified Mohan as the person driving the car. He has also stated that he does not wish to pursue any further action in the case,” claimed the lawyer.
On Tuesday afternoon, the case had taken another twist when Shivam’s father, KK Mishra, arrived at Gwaltoli police station claiming that his son was not driving the Lamborghini at the time of the accident.
According to KK Mishra, the driver Mohan was behind the wheel while Shivam was asleep. He further alleged that the car locked automatically after the accident, worsening his son’s health.
“When he recovers, I will personally bring my son to the police station,” Mishra said.
When asked about the Police Commissioner’s earlier statement that Shivam was driving, Mishra responded, “The Police Commissioner is lying.”
Meanwhile, the family’s lawyer claimed that Shivam was unconscious and was admitted to a hospital in Delhi.
Meanwhile, police sources said that KK Mishra’s claims were found to be false during the investigation.
According to officials, CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and other key evidence clearly establish that Shivam Mishra was driving a Lamborghini at the time of the accident.
The police sources claimed that the probe also indicated that no other person or driver was present inside the car when the crash occurred.
Police authorities maintained that the accident was caused by Shivam himself and that the investigation was continuing despite the reported compromise.
The Lamborghini car had also hit a motorcycle rider.
After the accident, bouncers could be seen coming in another car following the Lamborghini. They broke the Lamborghini's window with a brick to open the gate. They pulled Shivam out from the driver's seat and took him to the hospital in another car.
Police claimed that Shivam could be clearly seen being pulled out from the driver's seat with no other person in the car.
The second biggest evidence, as per the police authorities, is the statements of eyewitnesses.
Inspector Dinesh Singh, who is investigating the case, has recorded statements of more than 10 eyewitnesses. During questioning, all of them stated that Shivam Mishra was driving the car.
After the accident, people surrounded the businessman's son.
During the event, he remained seated in the car.
To strengthen their claim further, police authorities included Shivam's mobile location as electronic evidence in their investigation report.
During the accident, Shivam's mobile location was also at the accident spot on VIP Road. Police have reportedly also obtained CCTV footage from cameras installed by the Municipal Corporation under the Smart City project in their investigation report.
The entire accident was captured in the CCTV footage obtained from the Municipal Corporation's control room.
Police have included this as crucial evidence in their investigation report.
The footage also clearly shows that there was no so called driver in the car and only one person was present. This is the strongest evidence that proves the claim of accused Shivam Mishra's father, KK Mishra, to be false.
Statements have been recorded of Mohammad Taufiq, a resident of Chamanganj Ghusiana, who filed the FIR for the accident.
In his statement, the complainant said that there was only one person in the driver's seat in the Lamborghini car. After watching the video, he confirmed that the accused Shivam Mishra was driving the car.
The complainant's statement has also been included in the investigation report as important evidence in the entire case.
According to DCP Central Atul Kumar Srivastava, the Lamborghini is registered in Shivam Mishra's name.
A petition has been filed in court by Shivam's lawyer to release the car. Along with this, a surrender petition has been filed by driver Mohan.
