Drunk exec rams BMW into auto; 4 injured

DHNS

A top company executive drove his Delhi-registered BMW car under the influence of alcohol and rammed into an autorickshaw injuring four people.

Bengaluru, 17 May 2016: The suspect, who has been identified as Samrat Chadha, a native of Bandra (West) in Mumbai, has been set free since he suffered injuries, police said. The accident took place on Saturday around 11.10 pm at GM Palya near HAL, but came to light on Monday evening.

 

The injured, Manikantha, Manjunath, Govardhan and Sudhakar, were treated at a private hospital and are out of danger. The car was partially damaged, while the autorickshaw was fully mangled in the accident, the police added.

 

The accident occurred when the victims were heading to attend a religious ritual at Jeevan Bima Nagar. “We hired Sudhakar’s autorickshaw and started from New Thippasandra to attend a religious procession at Jeevan Bima Nagar. A man drove his car recklessly on the wrong side and rammed into the autorickshaw,” Manikantha recalled.

 

“I sensed danger and swerved left to avoid a collision, but the car was moving at top speed. We were thrown out of the autorickshaw and our vehicle turned upside down,” Sudhakar told DH.

 

A few locals rushed the injured to a private super speciality hospital at Malleshpalya, police said. The Indiranagar traffic police rushed to the spot on being alerted about the accident. 

 

There was high drama at the police station as Chadha claimed that he was not drunk. He even refused to be subjected to an alcometer test. Chadha called his wife, who rushed to the station. It took about four hours for the police to complete the alcometer test and get the results, which proved positive, the police added. 

 

“We subjected him to a medical examination and he was found to be drunk. Alcometer tests indicated alcohol levels above permissible limits. The police let him free as he had also suffered injuries. The local police have been directed to arrest him at the earliest,” Additional Commissioner of Police (traffic) R Hithendra told Deccan Herald.

 

Chadha has been booked under IPC Section 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and IMV Act section 185 (drunken driving). His car has been seized.