Police: Gadkar was driving at 120kmph, no glitch in Audi

MUMBAI: In a two page comprehensive report was submitted on Thursday to the RCF police by the regional transport office (RTO-Wadala) and the Audi Car manufacturer showing Janhavi Gadkar (35), an inhouse lawyer for Reliance Industries, slammed her car into a taxi at 12.55am on the same lane on the Eastern Freeway on June 9. The report said the vehicle was mechanically fit at the time of the accident and manual error the accident cause.
An investigator said the report submitted to the court is better than Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s case. The road accident report is used only in extreme cases, and is being used for the first time in Gadkar’s case in Mumbai. The report was submitted to the Kurla court during Gadkar’s bail hearing held on Friday. Gadkar’s bail plea was rejected. She is charged with slamming her SUV into a taxi killing driver Sayyed Hussain (57) and Salim Sabuwala (50) and injuring four, while speeding against traffic.
The incident occurred after consumed six pegs (30ml) whiskey at Marine Plaza and 4 bottles of beer at Irish House pub before heading for the dangerous drive on the Freeway. Apart from a taxi driver and her family who is the prime witness in the incident, police have also made Gadkar’s office colleagues one of the witnesses in the case who partied with her at the two places in South Mumbai on June 8. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone VI) Sangramsinh Nishandar confirmed TOI about the report. “It’s a comprehensive report and a vital piece of evidence,” said Nishandar. But denied to elaborate the details of the report that is submitted by the RTO and the Audi.
Investigators said in such a kind of case normally the RTO officers use a form called the accident vehicle inspection report, which includes only basic information about the vehicle. For the first time, the investigators have sought a road accident report form from the RTO and also the car manufacturer—Audi Q3. “In Gadkar’s case the road accident report form are used which included every aspect of the vehicle involved in the accident. The RCF police filled all the information and also put the query to know the exact cause of the accident,” said an RTO official.
The RTO official said the examination of the vehicle showed that the brakes of Gadkar’s SUV was perfect in order and was not mechanically fault. “The incident is a result of manual error. There a device in the Gadkar’s SUV that records, in an interval of every 5 minutes, which showed her vehicle banged at 12.55am and immediately the airbags ejected due to impact which opens when the accident impact is over 120kmph. The car manufacturer’s technician helped in studying the SUVs mechanism and through different gauges in it helped to know the exact impact of the accident,” said the official.
The report further said there are no skid marks on the road to indicate that there was a tyre burst before the collision. “The report showed the SUVs tyres were in perfect condition before the accident and there was no skid marks at the spot. The tyre ply rating showed the car can only burst at the speed of 240 kmph. The Audi left rear wheel might have scrapped something sharp on the railings resulting in the burst,” said the investigators.