A damaged BMW car driven by Siddhart Maharia ( inset) son of Rajasthan's MLA Nandkishore Maharia hit an autorickshaw and Police PCR van in Jaipur. (Photo: PTI)
Three people were killed and several others, including four police officers, were injured when a speeding BMW car rammed into an autorickshaw and a police van near St. Xavier’s School in Jaipur on Friday night. The police said that the car was driven by Siddharth Maharia, son of Sikar MLA Nand Kishore Maharia.
The incident took place at around 1.50 am when Siddharth and his cousin Jayant were going to their house in Jalupura in a BMW 520D sedan. The speeding car collided into an auto rickshaw, killing three people on the spot and injuring one, before ramming into a Police Control Room (PCR) van of the Ashok Nagar police station. Both occupants have been detained.
The car first hit an auto rickshaw and then a PCR van, the police said, the impact of the crash threw the three-wheeler 200 feet away from the site. Four police officers were also injured in the accident. Assistant sub-inspector Rajju Singh sustained head injuries. The other three officers sustained minor injuries.
“Prima facie it appears that Siddharth was driving the car although more can be said only after further investigation. Currently medical tests are being conducted to ascertain whether the two were under the influence of alcohol,” said deputy commissioner of police (south) Manish Agarwal. “An FIR has been lodged in this regard and after we receive the medical reports, the relevant sections of the IPC to apply will be decided. Chances are that the case will be registered under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder),” said Mr Agarwal.
Meanwhile, Siddharth claimed he was not driving the car and denied being under the influence of alcohol. “There were three persons in the car; my cousin Jayant, the driver and I. It was the driver who was at the wheel,” he said.
Blaming the auto driver for the accident, Siddharth claimed that the car’s speed was not more than 50 km per hour.
Siddharth’s father Nand Kishore Maharia has said, -"If i am in politics, why should my son suffer for it,-" he asked, adding that his son was not drunk according to doctors' report but the police has been charging him with sections which it ought not to.
Though, he said that it was an unfortunate incident. However, the police claimed that there were only two persons in the car, Siddharth and Jayant. Blaming the auto driver for the accident, Siddharth claimed that the car’s speed was not more than 50 km per hour. “The auto’s headlight was not on, and therefore, the driver couldn’t see it. When it collided the balloon (airbag) opened and nothing was visible and the car hit the PCR van, he said. Siddharth’s father, Nand Kishore Maharia, is an independent MLA. His brother, Subhash Maharia, was a BJP MP and minister in the Vajpayee government who contested as an independent in the last Lok Sabha election after being denied a ticket.
