Sonika Chauhan death case:Forensic team conducts tests on car, accident spot

In a bid to ascertain the exact reason behind the accident that claimed the life of celebrated model Sonika Chauhan and where actor Bikram Chatterjee was injured, a team comprising scientists from the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) and police officers from Fatal Squad of Traffic Police (FSTP) on Sunday carried out the investigation of the car and the spot where the accident took place in the wee hours on Saturday.

Both the experts from SFSL and officers of FSTP collected samples from the spot. They have also collected samples from the Toyota Altis in which they were travelling in. The car lost control and mounted a pavement on Rashbehari Avenue near Lake Mall and crashed against a wall in the wee hours on Saturday.

The investigating officers were found measuring the length of skid marks on the stretch of the road where the accident had taken place. They videographed the car and had a close look inside the interior of the vehicle. Though neither the police officers nor the forensic experts have disclosed what they are primarily looking into, sources said that the investigating officers are trying to ascertain that why the air-bags did not open. Another aspect that the investigating officers are also looking into the fact that whether they had their seat belts on or not. A police officer said that they have also urged the forensic experts to ascertain whether any light was blinking on the dash board. The officer said that usually blinking of such a light on the dash board in such cars suggests that the seat belts were not on and the air-bags would not operate.

The police officers are also trying to ascertain the speed at which the car was moving. Officers have also gone through the footages of the surveillance cameras. The eyewitnesses have claimed that the car was running at high speed while Bikram's father had claimed that he had failed to control the vehicle when another car suddenly came out of a lane.

Meanwhile, according to a medical bulletin of the private hospital, Bikram's condition "continues to remain stable".