Kanpur (UP), Feb 11 (PTI) The probe into Kanpur’s high-profile Lamborghini crash took a fresh turn on Wednesday after an alleged designated driver of the luxury sports car claimed that he, and not tobacco baron K K Mishra’s son Shivam Mishra, was behind the wheel when the vehicle rammed into pedestrians on VIP Road.
However, police maintained that evidence clearly establishes Shivam as the driver.
Speaking to reporters outside a court here on Wednesday, Mohan, the alleged designated driver of the luxury sports car, said he lost control of the vehicle when Shivam, who was on the adjacent seat, suffered a sudden seizure moments before the accident.
“I was driving the car when the accident happened. Suddenly, he had a seizure and fell on me. I got scared and was trying to hold him with one hand. The car hit a three-wheeler, climbed the divider and stopped,” he said.
He further claimed that the vehicle’s automatic locking system prevented him from stepping out immediately after the crash.
“I shifted him to the driver’s seat and stepped outside. The glass was later broken,” Mohan said.
The driver’s counsel had moved a surrender application before the concerned court, and in follow-up of the plea, Mohan appeared before the court on Wednesday to formally surrender, officials said.
However, the Gwaltoli police, in their report submitted to the court, did not name him as an accused in the case.
In view of the police stand, the court declined to accept his surrender and sought a detailed report from the Gwaltoli police station, officials added.
The Lamborghini Revuelto, an Italian luxury sports car costing upwards of Rs 10 crore, crashed into pedestrians and vehicles on VIP Road in the upscale Gwaltoli area around 3 pm on Sunday. One of the injured, Mohd Taufeeq (18), an e-rickshaw driver, later lodged an FIR.
However, Taufeeq has declined to pursue legal action, the counsel of the accused claimed.
Dharmendra Singh “Dharmu”, counsel for Shivam Mishra, on Wednesday claimed that Taufeeq had reached a mutual settlement and did not wish to initiate any action against the driver.
Dharmu also alleged that Mohan was driving the car at the time of the accident and he paid compensation towards Taufeeq’s medical expenses and other losses.
According to sources, Taufeeq was called to the Gwaltoli police station on Sunday, the day of the accident itself, where a written settlement was signed between him and the driver in the presence of the then Station House Officer (SHO), Santosh Kumar Gaur.
Though the SHO was stripped of his charge and sent to lines on Wednesday, senior police officials declined to comment on the settlement.
Earlier, Shivam’s father appeared at the Gwaltoli police station to record his statement on Tuesday and gave the same version.
“A driver and Shivam were in the car, and driver Mohan was at the wheel instead of Shivam,” he said.
However, K K Mishra later deviated from his earlier statement, saying he did not know who was driving at the time and that the matter should be investigated.
He also claimed that the car had developed a technical snag a day before and was taken out for testing after repairs. According to him, Shivam began losing consciousness while returning from Civil Lines.
“When the driver checked on him, the car slowed and an autorickshaw hit it,” K K Mishra said, adding that security personnel in an accompanying SUV broke the window to rescue his son.
The family has maintained that Shivam suffers from epilepsy and is undergoing treatment in Delhi. They have denied allegations of over-speeding or intoxication.
The Kanpur Police, however, rejected the claims.
Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal told PTI that CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and other evidence indicate that Shivam was driving at the time of the crash.
Senior officers also referred to videos purportedly showing bystanders pulling a man believed to be Shivam from the driver’s seat immediately after the impact.
The FIR, initially registered against an unidentified driver, was later amended to name Shivam as the accused. The car has been seized for forensic examination. PTI COR CDN KSS KSS
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