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A SPECIAL team from the Toyota office in Chennai on Thursday reportedly examined the Corolla Altis car, which had met with an accident in the wee hours of April 29, leading to the death of model Sonika Singh Chauhan. A forensic team, too, examined the vehicle. This is allegedly the third time forensic experts examined the car.
The car, being driven by actor Vikram Chatterjee, had reportedly rammed into a pavement on the Rash Behari Avenue. While Chatterjee was injured, Chauhan had died in the hospital. While Chatterjee had initially claimed that he was not inebriated and was only driving at 60 to 70 km/hr, he had reportedly told police he had consumed alcohol that day but was not drunk.
“It has been found that Vikram was driving at a much higher speed than what he had claimed… The event data recorder of the vehicle has revealed that the car was being at a speed of 105 km/hr about six seconds before it rammed into the pavement… The forensic team took photographs and collected parts of the vehicle…,” said a police officer.
An event data recorder or EDR is a device installed in some automobiles to record information related to vehicle accidents.
“Besides CCTV footage, police have collected bills from all three bars which Chatterjee and Chauhan had visited hours before the accident. While the bills show drinks were ordered, this is not enough to prove that Vikram was intoxicated,” said a police officer.
Sources in the police said Sonika’s Viscera has been sent for forensic test. “It is clear that the air bag sensor of the car did not work and Sonika had not fastened her seatbelt… Vikram has said that the accident took place as one of the tyres skid off on the tram line. However, it is clear that the car was being driven at a high speed,” the officer added.
“Vikram’s car, WB 12 C9755, has a past history of breaking signals,” a traffic police officer said.
Joint CP (Crime) Vishal Garg said: “We are waiting for Vikram’s medical report. So far, while two persons have recorded statement before the magistrate, 20 have been interrogated.”
Release of actor’s film postponed
The release of Vikram Chatterjee’s Bengali thriller ‘Khoj’ has been delayed by a week. Director Arka Ganguly told PTI, “We have decided to defer the film’s release by a week, from May 26 to June 2, to enable him to recover from the trauma and attend the special screening.”
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