VASCO
The accused Mercedes driver in the horrific Sancoale accident that claimed the life of 38-year-old motorcyclist Ashok Kumar Chauhan has landed in fresh trouble, with police records revealing that he was allegedly involved in another case at a different police station just two days before the fatal crash.
Vidhyadhar Prabhu, who was driving the Mercedes involved in Friday’s fatal accident, was arrested by Verna Police under different Sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Motor Vehicles Act.
He was produced before the JMFC Court at Vasco on Saturday and was remanded to two days’ police custody.
What has added another layer to the case is the revelation that Prabhu had allegedly been detained by Fatorda Police just a day before he was released and subsequently became involved in the fatal Sancoale crash.
According to sources, Prabhu’s parents had approached Fatorda Police on September 2 alleging that their son had assaulted them and behaved aggressively while allegedly under the influence of alcohol.
In a written complaint, his father Vinayak Prabhu reportedly told police that on the night of September 1, at around 10.30 pm, his son allegedly returned in an intoxicated condition, behaved aggressively, used abusive language and slapped him. His mother, Sharmila Prabhu, was also allegedly assaulted.
Fearing for their safety, the parents and their daughter-in-law reportedly left for Sancoale. However, according to the complaint, the alleged aggression continued the following morning, with Prabhu allegedly following them to Sancoale, abusing and assaulting his parents and threatening to kill them.
The complaint further states that when the parents later attempted to travel towards Fatorda in their car, Prabhu allegedly chased and intercepted their vehicle and assaulted them again, following which they approached Fatorda Police.
Police subsequently registered a case under Sections 352, 351 and 115(2) of the BNSS.
Sources said the situation allegedly escalated even at the police station. During the enquiry, Prabhu was reportedly called to Fatorda Police Station but allegedly remained aggressive, obstructed the enquiry and verbally abused and misbehaved with police personnel.
Considering the alleged repeated assaults on his elderly parents and his conduct during the police enquiry, Fatorda Police reportedly placed him under preventive arrest under Section 170 of the BNS for 24 hours. The Mercedes car was also reportedly attached during the proceedings.
According to sources, Prabhu was released along with the vehicle on September 3. The very next day, on Friday, the Mercedes was allegedly involved in the horrific Sancoale crash in which Chauhan was killed.
After his arrest by Verna Police, Prabhu reportedly complained of a blood-pressure-related health issue and sought hospitalisation.
However, following his production before the Vasco court on Saturday, the court granted Verna Police two days’ custody for further investigation.
Police are now probing whether any factors, including the accused’s condition at the time, the speed of the Mercedes and the circumstances that brought him to the Sancoale road, contributed to the fatal crash.
The Mercedes was reportedly registered in the name of Prabhu’s mother, while his father Vinayak Prabhu is known as a prominent builder.
PSI Mahesh Bhomkar is investigating the fatal accident under the supervision of PI Anand Shirodkar and the guidance of Mormugao DySP Gurudas Kadam.
With the Fatorda case and the Sancoale fatal crash unfolding within a span of barely two days, the investigation has now brought renewed scrutiny on the sequence of events leading up to the crash and subsequent death of Ashok Kumar Chauhan.
