Shivam Mishra, son of tobacco businessman KK Mishra, has been granted bail on Thursday in connection with the Kanpur Lamborghini crash that left six people injured.
He was arrested earlier in the day after the court rejected the surrender plea of a man claiming to be the driver at the time of the accident.
The arrest followed growing public anger and claims that attempts were made to protect the businessman’s son after the February 8 accident on Kanpur’s VIP Road.
Shivam was detained from outside his Arya Nagar residence on Thursday morning and was later produced before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (AJCM) court.
According to police and eyewitness accounts, the car hit an autorickshaw and a stationary motorcycle before mounting the pavement
and striking pedestrians.
According to sources and visuals that later surfaced, the Lamborghini was parked inside the police station at a spot typically reserved for the station house officer’s vehicle. The car was reportedly covered and guarded, allegedly even by bouncers. Critics accused the police of extending “VIP treatment” due to the accused’s influential background.
On February 11, the case took a dramatic turn when Mohan, identified as the Mishra family’s driver, surrendered before a Kanpur court along with his lawyer, Narendra Kumar Yadav. Mohan claimed that he was behind the wheel of the Lamborghini at the time of the accident.
He told the court that Shivam had suffered a seizure during the drive, causing panic.
“I was driving the car. Shivam got a seizure. I panicked and lost control, and the accident happened,” Mohan claimed.
He further claimed that after the windshield shattered and the door was opened, he managed to slip out from below, while bouncers pulled Shivam out of the vehicle and moved him into another car.
Investigating officer Dinesh Singh recorded statements from more than 10 eyewitnesses. All stated that Shivam was driving the car and that no other person was inside the vehicle. They confirmed that bouncers removed him from the driver’s seat after the crash.
