Jaipur animator with SRK's co dies 5 years after Mumbai mishap

JAIPUR/MUMBAI: Charu Khandal (33), the lead animator on Shah Rukh Khan's 2011 superhero film Ra.One, who battled spinal injury for four years and 10 months after the rickshaw she was travelling in was hit by a car in Andheri, passed away in Jaipur on Tuesday. Doctors said she suc FULL COVERAGE: P 6 cumbed to multiple infections.
On March 24, 2012, Ra.One won the national award for 'best special effects'.The same evening, Charu, who had joined Shah Rukh's company Red Chillies Entertainment in November 2010, had a celebratory party and was returning with her sister Ritu and Ritu's fiance in an autorickshaw when a speeding Honda City rammed into it, leaving her with serious spinal injuries.
Charu left Mumbai in October 2014, after she was declared a quadriplegic, to be with her parents and extended family in Jaipur (her father has a teaching job there).
The alleged driver of the car, Manojkumar Gautam (45), a businessman from Lokhandwala, Andheri (W), is currently on trial after charges were framed against him in January 2015. Gautam was charged under Indian Penal Code sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and section 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act. The maximum punishment under these charges is two years' imprisonment.
Gautam was arrested and granted bail on March 25, 2012. The matter has seen several adjournments over the years, and the first witness is yet to be examined.
Charu's sister Ritu said the family had stopped pursuing the case after they moved to Jaipur. Charu's sister Ritu said the family had stopped pursuing the case after they moved to Jaipur. “Our entire family was engaged in taking care of her, and that is the reason none of us took up the legal case seriously. We will take it up now,“ she said.
Senior counsel Amit Desai said the move for enhancement of charges to section 304 (A) (death caused by negligence) will have to be made by the public prosecutor and state.Stating that it could be difficult to enhance the charges, he said, “One of the fundamental requirements to bring in enhanced charges linking the incident to the death is a term, in criminal law, which means that your act is a direct and proximate cause of death. Since she has died after five years, it is very unlikely to say that [the] incident of drunken driving led to her death. Even though the origin of her medical complications could be the incident, one may not be able to bring charges of 304 (A) after five years.“
Pawan Khandal, Charu's mother who learnt palliative care to ensure that her daughter did not face problems because of being bedridden for a long time, said, “Initially, it was difficult for her to be in Jaipur. But she never gave up. She took up online assignments of teaching Hindi and Marwari to NRI children. She used to take four classes over Skype a week,“ the mother said.
Ashok Khandal, Charu's father, said she had mastered medical terminology and could brief her physiotherapist about the latest developments in the field of spinal injury on the internet, much like a doctor. “Being the eldest daughter in the family, she took up the responsibility of mentoring her younger siblings and cousins,“ he said.After a year in Jaipur, she settled down and started going out for movies and coffee on a wheelchair, he said.
However, though she adjusted to the situation, the illeffects of being bedridden showed up. “She suffered multiple infections which left her with serious breathing problems,“ said Ritu.