India

Vadodara Car Crash Accused Was Not Drunk But High On Drugs, Say Cops

Vadodara: Remember the Vadodara car crash accused who shouted ‘another round?’ Well, even as the accused—a 23-year-old law student, identified as Rakshit Chaurasia, had claimed of not being intoxicated, cops have now the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) test results of him and his two friends. The report of this test state that the youth was was high on drugs, not drunk, during the fatal car crash last month.

Police in Vadodara made this claim after receiving the FSL test results, reported the Times of India.

Along with Chaurasia, Pranshu Chauhan and Suresh Bharwad, at whose residence they met before the accident, were booked under the NDPS Act, reports claimed. Pranshu Chauhan, owner of the car, was in the vehicle at the time of the incident, cops claimed.

On Friday, Pranshu Chauhan was also arrested.

“All three tested positive for ganja (marijuana). Chaurasia 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 Chaurasia,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Panna Moma told TOI.

Rakshit Chaurasia accused of ramming a car into several vehicles on Holi-eve and killing a woman in the process, had claimed in the past that he did not consume alcohol but had Bhang before the incident.

Chaurasia spoke to the media after his arrest. He said that he panicked after the accident and wasn’t in his senses when he shouted ‘Nikita, Nikita’ or “Another Round” and then chanted “Om Namah Shivay”. He also denied that he was speeding, though the police still maintain that the car was travelling at over 100 km per hour.

According to experts, this was a classic example of what may happen once somebody consumes too much Bhang. “The boy was clearly hallucinating and didn’t even realise that he had rammed into eight vehicles, injuring several persons. Maybe, he wasn’t even aware that one of those who came under the car had died on the spot. After a person has too much Bhang, things do not register easily,” one of them said.