VADODARA: Nearly three weeks after an MSU law student hit three vehicles, leaving a woman dead, the police confirmed on Friday that the 23-year-old accused, Rakshit Chaurasiya, was high on drugs while driving on the fateful night of March 13.
The police said on Friday that they received the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) test results of Chaurasiya and his two friends. Along with 23-year-old Chaurasiya, Pranshu Chauhan and Suresh Bharwad, at whose residence they met before the accident, were booked under the NDPS Act.
On Friday, the police also arrested Chauhan, whose car Chaurasiya was driving.
“All three tested positive for ganja (marijuana). Chaurasiya was high on the intoxicant while driving. We filed a separate case under the NDPS Act against all three and added a section for driving under the influence of drugs under the Motor Vehicles Act in the original FIR against Chaurasiya,” said Panna Momaya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP).
Chaurasiya, a native of Varanasi, knocked down three two-wheelers near Chandravali Circle in the Karelibaug area late on the night of March 13. He first hit a two-wheeler carrying siblings Vikas, Komal, and Jayesh Kevlani. He then struck another two-wheeler on which Nisha Shah was riding with her two children, Jainil (12) and Rency (10). Moments later, he knocked down a couple, Purav (40) and Himani Patel (37), near the same spot. Himani succumbed to her injuries.
Chaurasiya is already in judicial custody, and the police said they will arrest Bharwad soon. The police said that they will now investigate how the accused managed to source marijuana.
The video footage of Chaurasiya ramming his car into three vehicles at high speed and flinging some of the victims in the air sent shockwaves through the city. Immediately after the crash, Chauhan got out of the car and left the spot quickly. Chaurasiya, however, came out and started shouting ‘another round’ while walking on the road.
Some passers-by confronted Chaurasiya, and he also received a thrashing from the mob before the police reached the spot and intervened.
Initially, it was suspected that Chaurasiya may have been under the influence of liquor. He was booked by the Karelibaug police for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The accident sparked outrage across the country, with many demanding strict punishment for Chaurasiya.
