Merc driver wasn't alone, woman pal asked him to speed up: Cops

KOLKATA: Varun Maheshwari, the youth who was allegedly behind the wheel of the Mercedes-Benz that killed a 22-year-old college student on Hazra Road last Sunday, was not the only one in the car as he claimed, say cops. Investigators probing the accident said there's evidence there were two other occupants in the car, of which at least one was a woman.
In fact, some officers even doubt if Maheshwari was at all driving the vehicle and feel his insistence that he was alone in the car, and hence at the wheel, could be an attempt to shield someone else.
On the day of the accident, witnesses had told TOI they had seen three persons getting off the car after it got stalled following the accident, of which two had appeared to be women.
“Opinion on who was driving the car is still divided. Prima facie, it seems he was behind the wheel. But we have learned one of his friends -a woman -had asked him to speed up after they left a club on Theatre Road for his Garcha residence via Alipore.It was late night, and hence, she told him not to worry about speeding. We will look into whether he accelerated after this and if it had any bearing on the accident,“ said an official.
Joint CP (crime) Vishal Garg said they would require a couple of more days to arrive at a conclusion on who were the occupants and who was driving the car.
What has, however, posed a problem for the cops is the “contradictory“ nature of statements given by two footpath-dwellers who were closest to the accident spot. “One claimed he saw a woman climb out from the driver's side of the car. The other insists it was a man,“ said a source privy to the investigation. Cops said they are now retracing Maheshwari's movement that night, right from the time he left a AJC Bose Road office to go to a club at Shakespeare Sarani and eventually headed for Alipore, where he dropped a friend, and then towards home via Hazra. The cops said more than one person had boarded the Maheshwari's car from the club and plan to record the statement of each.
Sources in the detective depart ment said Maheshwari will also be questioned at length about his actions following the accident and where he was till Wednesday when he was finally arrested. The acquaintance who had picked him up immediately after the incident will be asked to record his statement as well.
The police are also expecting the forensic test report of the car that will conclusively prove the car's sensors -and not the driver applying the brakes -led to the stalling of the car. Unless the defence counsel can prove otherwise, the public prosecutor will leverage this to build the case for IPC 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).
According to car engineers, sensors stall the engine after an accident deploys airbags. In the Red Road hitand-run case too, the Audi which allegedly Sambia Sohrab was driving had stalled after it hit an IAF personnel and iron railings that led to deployment of airbags. “We are using the Audi experience to build our case here,“ said an officer.
The police have also increased their presence at both Tetultala and Deodar Street slums after both neighbourhoods began accusing each other of fomenting trouble at Fort Oasis on Sunday. The cops are also likely to stay at Oasis for some time after residents expressed apprehension that they still feel “unsafe“ while venturing out.