Arrest in morning, bail by afternoon: Kanpur Lamborghini crash accused out of jail

A Kanpur court on Thursday granted bail to Shivam Mishra, son of local tobacco businessman K. K. Mishra, just hours after his arrest in connection with the high-profile Lamborghini crash that left six people injured on the city’s VIP Road earlier this week.

Police produced the 35-year-old accused before the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate around 10 am, seeking 14 days’ judicial custody. However, the court questioned the necessity of custodial remand and ordered his release on bail after he furnished a personal bond of Rs 20,000, District Government Counsel (Crime) Dileep Awasthi said.

Defence counsel Anant Sharma said the police had moved an application seeking Mishra’s remand but the documents contained “multiple discrepancies”, including the absence of details regarding the service of notice on the accused. On these grounds, the court rejected the remand plea and granted bail, he said.

Sharma added that Mishra had been formally arrested earlier in the morning and produced before the magistrate around 10 am. After hearing arguments from both sides, the court reserved its order and pronounced it after 3 pm.

Calling the order “just and appropriate”, Sharma said there was no provision at this stage for punishment or imposition of a fine and that the accused had been released in accordance with the law.

Senior defence counsel Naresh Chandra Tripathi, also appearing for Mishra, alleged that the arrest violated Supreme Court guidelines and provisions of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). “The police failed to record valid reasons for arrest, particularly when the alleged offences attract a punishment of less than seven years,” he told reporters.

Tripathi said the court, exercising its discretion and taking into account Supreme Court directions and BNSS provisions, refused custodial remand and ordered Mishra’s release on bail. He also alleged that the arrest was made under “government pressure” and termed it illegal.

After his release, Mishra walked out of the crowded court premises amid tight security. Wearing a white face mask, he passed through a heavy presence of police personnel, lawyers and media persons before reaching his vehicle.

Police, however, defended the arrest. A senior officer said Mishra was taken into custody from an undisclosed location in the city on Thursday morning as he was not cooperating with the investigation. Another officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, claimed that the accused had been attempting to evade arrest and was allegedly moving around in an ambulance to avoid detection.

After undergoing a medical examination, Mishra was produced before the court. He appeared slightly unwell during the hearing and was seen with an intravenous cannula, supported by police personnel and relatives. He also objected to mediapersons recording videos outside the courtroom.

Another defence counsel, Narendra Yadav, submitted before the court that the investigating officer failed to place convincing grounds for custodial remand, following which the judge dismissed the police plea. The court also reportedly pulled up the investigating officer over alleged procedural lapses.In court, Mishra assured that he would cooperate with the investigation and would neither threaten witnesses nor tamper with evidence.

Tripathi further argued that since the offences cited in the FIR carry a maximum punishment of less than seven years, the police could have granted bail at the police station itself instead of arresting and producing the accused before a magistrate.

The case relates to a crash on Sunday in which a speeding Lamborghini allegedly driven by Mishra rammed into pedestrians and vehicles on VIP Road, injuring six people and triggering widespread public outrage.

Police have maintained that preliminary investigation, supported by CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, established that Mishra was behind the wheel at the time of the accident. They said videos circulating on social media appear to show private security personnel pulling a man believed to be Mishra out of the driver’s seat immediately after the crash and taking him away in another SUV.

Initially, the FIR named an “unidentified driver” as the accused, but it was later amended to include Mishra after preliminary evidence emerged, police said.

Mishra’s father has denied these claims, insisting that his son was not driving the car and alleging that the police framed him. The family has claimed that a hired driver was at the wheel and that Mishra, who was unwell, suffered a medical episode during the ride, which may have contributed to the accident. They have also alleged a possible technical malfunction in the vehicle prior to the crash.

In a related development, a man identified as Mohanlal appeared before a court on Wednesday seeking to surrender, claiming that he, and not Mishra, was driving the Lamborghini at the time of the accident. The court rejected his plea after a police report stated that he was not named as an accused in the case.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) Atul Srivastava said Mishra was arrested based on specific inputs that he had arrived in Kanpur. Five police teams were formed to trace him as he repeatedly failed to appear for questioning, the officer said.

One of the injured, 18-year-old e-rickshaw driver Mohd Taufeeq, had lodged a complaint in the case. Defence counsel later claimed that Taufeeq was no longer keen on pursuing legal action, a contention the police did not immediately comment on.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, with police saying medical, forensic and technical aspects of the incident will be examined further.