In the February 8 Kanpur Lamborghini accident case, Shivam Mishra, the son of a tobacco tycoon, was finally arrested on Thursday. The arrest came amid conflicting claims about who was driving the luxury car which hit an autorickshaw and a Bullet motorcycle before crashing into a pole. At least one person was injured in the crash.
While CCTV and other videos from the scene showed Shivam being pulled out of the car from the driver’s seat by his security men who were following in another vehicle, the lawyer of the accused claimed that Mishra was not behind the wheel. The defendant’s side claimed that Mishra’s driver, Mohan, was driving and has assumed responsibility for the accident as well in an affidavit.
Mohan has claimed that Shivam was sitting beside him in the car, had a seizure, and fell on him. “He had a seizure. Suddenly, his arms and legs started shaking, and he fell on me. I was there (at the spot). I was there on the day the accident happened. The bouncer pulled me out (of the car),” Mohan was quoted as saying.
The Kanpur Police have, however, put the blame on Shivam for the accident, stating they have established that the businessman’s son was driving the car at the time of the incident.
Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said, “When Shivam’s name comes up in our investigation, it means that we are satisfied that the driver was Shivam, so they can keep saying anything. We have CCTV footage. His name has been included in the FIR.”
The police’s conduct earlier had raised questions as Shivam was not taken into custody immediately after the accident, with claims being made of the VIP being given special treatment.
This brought forth a debate in the public about VIPs being accorded privileges not reserved for the common people.
Shivam’s case is not the first one in which the accused person has tried to put the blame on another person for the accident. There have been several high-profile incidents where contested identity has made the case murky and sometimes helped the rich and powerful get away.
A look at some of these prominent incidents from the past:
1. In May 2024, two IT professionals lost their lives when a Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old, hit them in Pune’s posh Kalyani Nagar. Police later stated that the family of the minor had tried to portray the driver as the person who was driving the car. Police even claimed that the driver was pressured to assume the responsibility. As the case investigation progressed, the minor’s father and grandfather were arrested for alleged evidence tampering.
2. In July 2024, Mihir Shah, son of a Shiv Sena leader, allegedly hit a two-wheeler with his BMW car. Shah was accused of killing a woman who was riding on the two-wheeler and dragging her body for more than 1.5 km. The Supreme Court, while denying bail to him late last year, had remarked that “these boys need to be taught a lesson”.
3. On April 4, 2016, a 32-year-old IT professional died in a high-profile hit-and-run incident. The incident took place in Delhi’s Civil Lines area and involved a Mercedes allegedly being driven by a minor. The family’s driver later approached the police and claimed that he was behind the wheel when the accident happened. However, as the probe into the case progressed, the driver revealed the true story and alleged that he was pressured to claim responsibility. Basing their case on forensic and circumstantial evidence, the police detained the minor and concluded that he was in the driver’s seat.
4. In what remains as one of the most high-profile cases of contested identity, on September 28, 2002, a Toyota Land Cruiser mowed down people sleeping on a pavement in Mumbai’s Bandra area. One person was killed in the accident while four others were injured. While it was alleged that Bollywood actor Salman Khan was driving the car, the case progressed with the central question remaining who was behind the wheel. In 2015, Khan’s driver submitted in court that he was driving the car when the accident happened. The claim was contested by prosecutors, who alleged that there was evidence to prove Khan was driving the car. Subsequently, the Bombay High Court found Salman Khan not guilty in 2015, giving him the benefit of the doubt amid inconsistencies in the prosecution’s arguments.
5. A BMW car ran over and killed six people, including three policemen, at Lodhi Road in Delhi on January 10, 1999. Businessman Sanjeev Nanda, the grandson of a former Navy Chief, was accused of driving the car when the accident happened but attempts were subsequently made to suggest that he was not behind the wheel. However, witness testimony and forensic evidence helped the prosecution to convince the court to convict Nanda in 2008.