Kanpur car crash: Lawyer claims Mishra wasn’t driving; police show footage | India News

The investigation into the high-profile Lamborghini crash took a controversial turn on Tuesday after the lawyer for the tobacco baron’s son, Shivam Mishra, claimed his client was not driving the luxury sports car when it slammed into pedestrians on VIP Road, even as police said CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and other evidence clearly showed he was driving.

Mishra’s lawyer Mrityunjay Kumar told reporters that the vehicle was driven by Mohan, a designated driver employed by Mishra’s family, and not by Mishra himself.

“The car was driven by the driver, not Shivam Mishra. We will present the facts and evidence in court,” Kumar said, urging authorities to treat the incident as an accident rather than a criminal offence.

However, the Kanpur police rejected the claim, saying the investigation conducted so far had confirmed that Mishra was the driver at the time of the accident.

Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal told PTI that available evidence and eyewitness statements corroborate Mishra’s presence behind the wheel.

“An FIR may sometimes contain incorrect or incomplete details initially. During investigation, the involvement of Shivam Mishra was confirmed through evidence, CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts,” Lal said.

Senior officers also referred to videos from the scene, which appear to show bystanders and rescuers pulling a man believed to be Mishra out of the driver’s seat immediately after the impact.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Atul Kumar Srivastava said CCTV footage from the site identifies the person pulled from the vehicle as Mishra.

He added that the arguments put forward by the lawyer would not influence the investigation.

“What a lawyer puts forward in court does not affect our investigation. If the court asks for clarification, all the facts will be submitted to it,” the DCP added.

Police teams also visited Mishra’s house in Arya Nagar to serve a notice, but could not make contact, an official said.

The FIR had initially named an unidentified driver of a Lamborghini car, but it was later updated to include Mishra as an accused. Additionally, the car was seized for forensic examination.

The accident involving the Lamborghini Revuelto, an Italian luxury sports car costing over Rs 10 crore, took place on VIP Road in the posh Gwaltoli area of ​​Kanpur around 3:15 p.m. SHO Santosh Gaur was removed from service and sent to police lines.

Shivam Mishra is the son of Banshidhar Exports Pvt Ltd owner KK Mishra, who was under the IT department’s scanner over tax-related issues.