The Vadodara police is preparing to send a special team to the hometown of Rakshit Chaurasia in Uttar Pradesh for a detailed investigation. Chaurasia, a law student at MS University, crashed a Volkswagen Virtus into eight people in the Karelibaug area of Vadodara on the night of March 13, resulting in one death.
In a statement issued late on Tuesday evening, the police confirmed the formation of a special team for an “in-depth investigation”.
Officers involved in the case stated that the team would verify Chaurasia’s credentials and investigate his criminal background in Uttar Pradesh. Currently, Chaurasia remains in judicial custody after completing a three-day police remand.
An officer familiar with the investigation told a national daily, “A team of officers will be sent to Uttar Pradesh to verify the motor driving license of Chaurasia as well as ascertain if he has been previously involved in any other criminal offence in his home state.”
The decision follows revelations of Chaurasia’s previous encounters with law enforcement in Vadodara, although no formal complaints were filed in those incidents.
The officer added, “The decision has been taken after it has emerged that he had two close brush-ins with law in Vadodara just weeks before the Karelibaug accident but in both cases, no formal complaints were lodged.”
The special team will work with Uttar Pradesh police to conduct a comprehensive background check. Investigators aim to determine if Chaurasia had a history of road and traffic offences before moving to Vadodara to study law.
The police also plan to record statements from Chaurasia’s family in Varanasi. An officer said, “We need to record the statements of his parents… No one has arrived in Vadodara so far, and we are sending officers to their hometown to record the statements.”
On Tuesday, Vadodara city police recorded statements from nine witnesses, including survivors and eyewitnesses of the March 13 crash. Statements from Chaurasia’s friends are also being taken separately.
Among them is Chaurasia’s co-passenger, Pranshu Chauhan, whose father allegedly owns the car. Another friend, at whose residence in Gadheda market the two spent over 45 minutes before the incident, has also provided a statement.
Police have started gathering CCTV footage covering the entire route Chaurasia took on the night of the accident. Investigators aim to piece together the sequence of events leading up to the crash.
Chaurasia, who was held in police custody for three days, was transferred to judicial custody at Vadodara Central Jail on Monday after police opted not to seek further remand.
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