Kochi: Three men, all of them students, lost their lives on Sunday after a teenager hit them with a Mini Cooper car that he received on his birthday.
When accosted by locals, the 19-year-old nonchalantly said that his father would take care of the case. The police later said that he was driving under the influence of alcohol.
The deceased, a man and two women, were 21-year-olds working as part-time salespersons at a showroom near the Kochi airport.
The accused, college student Suhail Sajeev, was booked for non-bailable offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita’s Section 105) and arrested, as reported by The Indian Express.
It has been reported that his mother runs a prominent design studio and brand in Kochi and Alappuzha. In a Facebook post, she had stated that she was presenting the Mini Cooper to her son as a birthday gift. The video has gone viral after Sunday’s incident.
The car costs Rs 50-60 lakh in India.
The deceased were identified as Iyas, a native of Sullia in Karnataka, Devika from Wayanad, and Gopika of Palakkad. The police said that the trio was returning after a tea break with Iyas riding the scooter and the two women riding pillion.
All three were also students at a college in Thrikkakara. They were thrown off the scooter after the car hit it from behind.
Sajeev has a history of overspeeding, including an incident in which he was recorded driving at 218 kmph and trying to escape after brandishing his businessman father’s “influence”, the police said.
On Sunday, he was allegedly driving the car at a speed of 125 km per hour when the incident occurred.
Local rescuers told police that Sajeev asked them: “This is airport road, what is wrong with overspeeding?” He also said, “My baapa (father) will handle the case.”
The first responders overpowered him and handed him over to the police.
The accused told police he had consumed alcohol from three bars on Saturday night. State excise minister M Liju ordered registration of a case against the establishments concerned since the minimum age for purchasing liquor is 23 in the state.
Sajeev had shared several reels on Instagram sharing his affinity for high-speed driving. In a number of these instances, he was allegedly speeding above Rs 200 km per hour.
