Speeding Audi kills IAF officer leading R-Day rehearsal in Kolkata

Speeding Audi kills IAF officer leading R-Day rehearsal in Kolkata

An Air Force officer was killed during the Republic Day rehearsal parade here Wednesday after a speeding car smashed through the barricades and knocked him down. The car, a brand new Audi, was allegedly being driven by the son of former RJD MLA and current TMC leader Mohammed Sohrab, police said.

As per the police, the car tore through three guard rails on Red Road, which was closed for traffic, at about 6.30 am and ran over 21-year-old Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud, the Air Force drill instructor supervising the parade.

 “The car dragged Gaud more than 20 metres. It sped away but came to a halt after hitting another barricade near the south gate of Fort William,” an officer said, adding the driver left the car and fled.

Gaud was injured on his head and suffered multiple fractures. He was rushed to Eastern Command Hospital where the doctors declared him dead. The Air Force officer was from Surat in Gujarat, a Defence official said.
Kolkata Traffic Police personnel said that the Audi was initially stopped while it was trying to get onto the flyover leading to Vidyasagar Setu.

“The driver took a U-turn on the flyover and drove down using the wrong lane. It then sped towards Red Road where vehicular entry was prohibited because of the rehearsal,” a police officer said. Describing the death of the officer as “unfortunate”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered “strict and strong action” against the person responsible for the mishap.

After a pushing from the MoD, Kolkata Police have constituted a 22-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the case.The SIT will be headed by the Deputy Commissioner of Detective Department II, Nagendra Tripathi.

Kolkata Police found a challan in the car through which they got the address of the showroom that sold the vehicle. “Showroom records say that the car was belonged to  Ambia Sohrab, son of Md. Sohrab who happens to be the president of the Fruit Merchants’ Association in Kolkata. Md. Sohrab was also a Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA till 2011 and is now associated with the Trinamool Congress” an officer said. 

The investigators claim that even though the car was registered in the name of Ambia, his younger brother Sambia would have been driving the 
Car

A lookout notice including the photographs was issued by the police against Md. Sohrab and his sons, Ambia and Sambia is circulated in all the states. All of them went untraceable after the incident. There is a strict checking at all major airports and railway stations to track down the trio.

Ambia Shorab has also in the past been a menace for the city. He owns a fleet of expensive cars including the Hummer, Mercedes and Porche. Ambia was also detained for slapping a traffic police constable in 2006 but was released in a few hours.

The overall scenario has taken a slight political edge as West Bengal Youth Congress supporters started to protest against the Bengal police. While a section of supporters protested in the front of the police station, another section carried a candle light vigil near Park Street pressing for same demands and urging police to make immediate arrests.

Let’s hope that this time the victim’s family is not debarred from justice.