the Vadodara Police said the car driven by Rakshit Chaurasia in the fatal crash, which claimed one life and injured eight others late Thursday night, belonged to his friend Pranshu Chauhan, who was in the passenger seat at the time.
Vadodara DCP Panna Momaya confirmed HT Digital on Saturday that the car belonged to Pranshu Chauhan, adding that he was not taken into custody.
Rakshit Chaurasia, a law student originally from Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, resides in a PG accommodation in Vadodara, Momaya told reporters.
A video recorded by an eyewitness shows the co-passenger stepping out of the damaged vehicle and blaming Rakshit Chaurasia for the crash.
Eyewitnesses at the scene informed the police that Rakshit Chaurasia appeared intoxicated and was repeatedly shouting, “another round, another round” after exiting the car, the official said, suggesting that the case could involve drunk driving.
HT.com could not independently verify the videos.
Who is ‘Nikita’?
In the video, Chaurasia can also be heard mentioning the name “Nikita” and chanting “Om Namah Shivaya.” When questioned about the name he shouted after stepping out of the car, he claimed he had randomly called it out “in a state of panic” and denied being intoxicated at the time of the crash.
CCTV footage shows the speeding car colliding with two scooters, knocking the riders down and dragging them before eventually coming to a stop.
Speaking about the incident, the DCP said, “Primarily, the car was overspeeding. This can also be a case of drunk driving. We will conduct his medical test to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol.” The official also confirmed that Chaurasia possesses a valid driving license.
Here are the latest updates
According to The Indian Express, the 23-year-old driver, Rakshit Chaurasia, claimed he had consumed ‘bhaang.’ Police have collected samples to determine the intoxicant.
Chaurasia stated that he was not drunk but was driving the car at a speed of 50 km/hour; he further urged to meet the members of the victim’s family and said that he was responsible for the accident. “We were going at 50 km/hour. There were no people at that time, just a scooter and a car…I had no idea. I did not do any party, I went for Holika Dahan and was not drunk… Today, 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, and whatever they want that should happen…,”
We were going ahead of the scooty, we were turning right, and there was a pothole on the road. There was a scooty and a car while we were turning right… The car slightly touched the other vehicle and the airbag opened suddenly, our vision was hampered and the car went out of control”, Rakshit Chaurasia said.
Vadodara police have not confirmed the intoxicant, stating that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report will provide conclusive results. Deputy Commissioner of Police told mediapersons, “We have collected blood samples of the two accused and sent them to FSL.”
Vadodara Police Commissioner Narasimha Komar confirmed that three other vehicles-two active vehicles and an electric vehicle (EV)-were also involved in the incident, in addition to the four-wheeler. He stated that eight people were injured, and one woman had died.
Komar further mentioned that multiple investigative teams were working on the case, recovering evidence from the crime scene, and tracking the movements of both the driver and the co-passenger. He added that the accused driver was already in custody, and authorities had successfully traced the co-passenger’s movements.