Red Road hit-and-run case: Police file charge-sheet

Police on Thursday filed a charge-sheet at Bankshall Court in connection with the hit-and-run case in which an Indian Air Force officer was killed on Red Road.

It may be mentioned that Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud was killed after being hit by a speeding car driven by Shambia Sohrab, son of the former RJD MLA Md Sohrab. The youth was in an inebriated state and he hit Gaud after breaking two security barricades during rehearsal of Republic Day parade on January 13 in morning.

Police filed charge-sheet of 350 pages after 58 days of the incident. There are 82 witnesses in this case and quite a few of them are from Indian Air Force (IAF), Army and Kolkata Police.

Shambia was booked with murder charges while three others – Shanu, Jhony and Md Sohrab – were booked with charges of tampering evidence, helping the accuse flee and criminal conspiracy. Police had arrested Shambia, Jhony and Shanu, but Sohrab was shown absconding in the charge-sheet. The punishment on charges of murder is ‘death sentence or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine’.   Sources said that based on the statement of the witnesses and circumstantial evidences, police have mentioned in the charge-sheet that Shambia was riding the car that hit the IAF officer. He was the only person in the car when the incident took place. Defence officers have claimed, soon after the incident, that there was only one person in the offending car contradicting the initial claim of the city police who felt that there were around three persons in the vehicle. The investigating officers have also mentioned in the charge-sheet that Jhony and Shanu were in a Skoda and they left the place when restricted by the police. Later, the same car was used to help Shambia abscond. 

His father Sohrab had also played a crucial role in helping Shambia to flee. Shambia came to his house after the incident and from there he fled with the help of his father and two friends. Name of Sohrab’s elder son Ambia Sohrab was not mentioned in the charge-sheet.

It may be recalled that the Test Identification (TI) parade in correctional home, to ascertain the right person who was driving the car, was held on February 4 during which the entire plot was reconstructed. 

A police officer said that it has also been mentioned in the charge-sheet that Shambia was identified as the driver of the car in the TI parade.