FOR 37-SEVEN-YEAR-OLD Purav Patel – one of the seven surviving victims of the March 13 car crash of Vadodara – the news of the Gujarat High Court granting bail to accused law student Rakshit Chaurasia, 23, brought back the “pain” of the loss of his wife Hemali, who died when the car allegedly rammed into their two-wheeler.
The survivors include a 25-year-old homoeopathy student, who is maimed and could not do the internship to qualify her for post-graduation and an 18-year-old accountancy student whose academics got disrupted on account of back-to-back surgeries.
They are exploring legal options to challenge Chaurasia’s release. Among the grounds the court considered while granting conditional bail was Chaurasia’s age and the fact that he had been in jail for nine months.
Patel says he had not anticipated that a quick trip to the local market to purchase colours for Holi festivities (on March 14) would take away hues from his life’s canvas. In a matter of seconds, a speeding Volkswagen Virtus, allegedly driven by Chaurasia – then a law student at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda – had knocked down three two-wheelers, throwing off eight persons. Hemali (37) died on the spot.
On December 22, the Gujarat High Court granted conditional bail to Chaurasia, turning down the objections of the assistant Public Prosecutor Jay Mehta, who had also played in court a video from the day of the crash, in which Chaurasia was purportedly seen stepping out of the damaged Volkswagen Virtus and shouting, “Another Round, Another round”, before he was caught by bystanders and handed over to the police. Forensic investigations had found that Chaurasia was allegedly under the influence of cannabis.
Justice Nikhil Kariel while pronouncing the order, said, “The fact that the applicant is stated to be a 23-year-old student, without any antecedents except the two referred to hereinabove and whereas, since it appears that the case against the present applicant predominantly is with regard to having committed offence under Section 105 of the BNS (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder), and having considered the fact that the applicant is in custody since nine months, to this Court, at this stage, interference is required albeit with appropriate safeguards more particularly to allay the apprehension expressed by learned APP…”
Patel says, “I have no recollection of what happened in that moment. We were completely unaware when we were hit… I had suffered a head injury apart from injuries to my limbs… For four days I was in a comatose state and I only remember opening my eyes on the fifth day. I could barely recognise anyone except my father. It was over 20 days later that my family told me about Hemali’s loss… I was devastated in ways I cannot explain even now.”
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Although Patel has recently resumed his work as an engineer at a private company in Vadodara, he says it is an “attempt to pick up the pieces of his life.” He says, “I stayed at SSG hospital for 10 days after the crash and thereafter my family shifted me to a private hospital. I went through five months of straight hospitalisation and six surgeries and the post-operative physiotherapy and rehabilitation is ongoing. In fact, I have been able to resume my daily activities only one month ago. It was a miracle because doctors were not confident that I would survive… But the pain of losing my wife lives inside me.”
Patel says he is exploring legal options to challenge the bail granted to Chaurasia and also set an example in larger public interest in what could be the first confirmed case of a driver causing an accident under the influence of narcotics. “The bail granted to the accused is anguishing. As I recovered and learnt about the details of the case, how a youngster, driving under the influence of narcotics wreaked havoc in so many lives, I was angry… I believe that if God has granted me this recovery and life, it must be for a purpose. I will fight for justice for Hemali and also ensure that this case becomes an example that deters others,” Patel says.
Senior officers of the Vadodara city police told The Indian Express that they would decide on whether to appeal against the bail to Chaurasia “after going through the details of the High Court order.”
That night, accompanying Hemali and Purav for the Holi shopping were family friends Vikas Kewlani (23), his sister Komal (25) and cousin Jayesh (18) – who also came in the line of the collision. For the three youngsters, the grave injuries meant a pause in their life and dreams. For over nine months, the Kewlani family has been going in and out of hospitals and the healing seems a long way away with more surgical interventions required, especially in Komal’s case.
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Komal suffered critical injuries on her right leg. The injuries meant that she lost a major portion of her calf muscle, which has resulted in foot drop due to the paralysis of her peroneal nerve. The budding homoeopath has not yet been able to complete her mandatory internship to secure her postgraduation degree. Jayesh, 18, has lost out on his Cost Management Accountancy (CMS) course as injuries on his right ankle required six surgeries so far, including one for a bone infection that led to the removal of the bone and a complicated cosmetic surgery.
Ajit Kewlani, Jayesh’s uncle and Vikas and Komal’s father, says, “The bail granted to the accused has come at a time when we were just beginning to learn to live with the consequences. It has come as a shock and agony… My daughter has been crippled in the accident as her entire calf muscle is lost and it cannot be restored. The doctors have said that she will not have a complete recovery… For once, we can even set aside her career loss, but what about her physical well-being? Will she ever walk again?”
He adds, “Law is meant to be merciful and we respect that aspect of law. But if mercy has to be shown to the accused, what about the victims? There should be a process that when courts have to consider bail pleas in such serious cases of accidents, they should summon the victims to take a look at the physical pain they are going through…”
Kewlani says that the family has exhausted its medical insurance policies and the expense of further treatment is the family’s look out. “We have received no aid or respite in the case so far… It is a case where the person drove under the influence of drugs, which has been confirmed by forensic tests. So, if this bail is not challenged by the government and cancelled, it will speak volumes of their claims about fighting drug addiction in the state. This case will become a precedent for cases of drunk drivers to escape jail time,” Kewlani adds.
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Vikas, who appeared for his final-year diploma exams of Mechatronics engineering, a month after the accident, feels that the release of the law student will dent the impact of law. He says, “The court has said that he is a 23 year old student… But he is a drug addict, who has committed a big crime. Does society need a law student, who cannot follow law on his own and can crush people to death under the influence of drugs? Should he be allowed to pursue law? It is a negative example for society…”
The court granted conditional bail, including a surety of Rs 1 lakh as well as a mandatory marking of presence every fortnight with the police station concerned in Vadodara city for the first six months of the bail and thereafter every month. Chaurasia has also been directed not to leave Gujarat and to inform the Investigating Officer about any change of residential address.
On March 13, Chaurasia, alongside co-accused Praanshu Chauhan, was driving a Volkswagen Virtus, allegedly under the influence of narcotics when Chaurasia allegedly crashed the car into three two-wheelers outside Amrapali Shopping complex on a busy street in the Karelibaug area of Vadodara. The police chargesheet in the case states that the Event Data Recorder (EDR) report received from the German car maker, Volkswagen, has confirmed that the car was speeding at 140 kmph when it crashed into three two-wheelers. A forensic report confirmed the presence of Tetra-Hydro Cannabinol (THC) and Codeine in Chaurasia’s bloodstream and determined that the accused was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
