Woman killed, four injured as law student rams car into two-wheelers in Vadodara
Vadodara, Mar 14 (PTI): A woman was killed on the spot and four others sustained injuries when a speeding car driven by a 20-year-old law student crashed into their two-wheelers in Gujarat’s Vadodara city in the early hours of Friday, police said.
The accident occurred around 12.30 am near Muktanand cross roads in the Karelibaug area following which the driver, Rakshit Chaurasiya, was arrested, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Panna Momaya.
It could be a case of drunk driving as eyewitnesses, who caught Chaurasiya at the scene, told the police that he appeared intoxicated and was screaming “another round, another round” after coming out of the car, the official said.
The deceased woman has been identified as Hemali Patel, who was riding her scooter at the time of the accident.
Chaurasiya, who originally hails from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, is a law student and lives in a PG accommodation here, Momaya told reporters.
“The car belonged to his friend Mit Chauhan, who was sitting in the co-driver’s seat when Chaurasiya rammed the car into some two-wheelers at full speed while going towards Muktanand circle,” she said.
Efforts are being made to track down Chauhan, the official said.
In a video captured by an eyewitness, Chauhan comes out of the car, with a wrecked front portion, and starts blaming Chaurasiya for the crash.
Chaurasiya, who appears incoherent, keeps shouting, “Another round? Another round?”. The video shows Chaurasiya getting thrashed by bystanders, who subsequently handed him over to the police.
In CCTV footage accessed by media, the speeding car can be seen hitting two scooters, knocking down the riders and dragging them along before coming to a halt.
“Primarily, the car was overspeeding. This can also be a case of drunk driving. We will conduct his medical test to determine whether he was under the influence of alcohol,” said DCP, adding that Chaurasiya does have a driving licence.
A horrific accident in Vadodara, Gujarat
— Sumit (@SumitHansd) March 14, 2025
A Drunk LLB students from MS university of Vadodara has rammed his car into several 2 wheelers killing 3 people & 7 other injured. #Vadodara pic.twitter.com/QbKWaicfbE
One woman died and seven others were injured in a horrific road accident in #Gujarat's #Vadodara on Thursday night.
— Hate Detector 🔍 (@HateDetectors) March 14, 2025
A car, whose driver was allegedly drunk, crashed into a two-wheeler in the city's #Karelibag area. The incident, captured on CCTV, has shocked residents and led to… pic.twitter.com/OCJhFXZ6wG
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
