Lamborghini crash: Tycoon's son planted dummy driver to shift blame, say cops

Kanpur police said the son of a prominent tobacco businessman who was involved in the Lamborghini crash went into hiding after the incident on February 8 and attempted to mislead investigators by presenting a dummy driver to take the blame. Shivam Mishra, the son of tobacco tycoon KK Mishra, was arrested on Thursday following a four-day search.

In its application filed before the court, exclusively accessed by India Today, police said Shivam fled the scene immediately after the accident, which left three people injured. The next day, police claimed, a fake affidavit was prepared, falsely identifying another person, named Mohan, as the driver of the Lamborghini Revuelto, a luxury sports car priced at over Rs 10 crore.

Previously, KK Mishra also claimed that Shivam was not behind the wheel of the car.

However, police told the court on Thursday that a thorough investigation had firmly established that Shivam was himself driving the Lamborghini at the time of the crash on Sunday night.

Eyewitnesses said the luxury car hit an autorickshaw and a stationary motorcycle at high speed before mounting the pavement and striking pedestrians at the upscale Gwaltoli area.

The case took a twist on Wednesday after a man named Mohan, 45, claimed before a district court that he and not Shivam was driving the Lamborghini. Speaking to reporters, Mohan claimed he lost control of the car when Shivam, who was seated beside him, suffered a sudden seizure. However, the court rejected Mohan's surrender application.

Police said despite repeated attempts to serve him notice and directions to cooperate with the probe, Shivam continued to evade.

Since the offence in the case carries a maximum punishment of less than seven years, the police initially did not make an immediate arrest. It first issued a notice under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). However, police told the court that Shivam failed to comply with Section 35 of the BNS, which mandates cooperation with the investigation.

The police have sought a 14-day custody of Shivam. After his arrest, Shivam was seen limping and leaning on police personnel as he was being taken for a medical check-up.

Previously, Shivam's family said he suffered from epilepsy and was undergoing treatment. However, police said CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts proved beyond doubt that Shivam was behind the wheel at the time of the crash.

- Ends