KANPUR: A court in Uttar Pradesh has granted bail to accused Shivam Mishra, hours after his arrest in connection with a Lamborghini crash in Kanpur that injured three people, according to news agency ANI.
Mishra was released on a personal bond of Rs 20,000.
Police had arrested Mishra on Thursday in connection with the accident on VIP Road on Sunday afternoon. He was later produced before the court.
The arrest came a day after a man named Mohan Lal approached a local court claiming that he and not Mishra, was driving the car at the time of the incident and sought to surrender.
The court rejected his plea after police maintained they had evidence to establish that Mishra was behind the wheel.
“He (Mishra) has been arrested and will be presented before the court,” Commissioner of Police Raghubir Lal told PTI earlier in the day.
Deputy commissioner of Police (Central) Atul Srivastava told PTI that the police arrested Mishra after receiving specific inputs that he had arrived in Kanpur.
As many as five police teams were formed to trace and arrest him, as he was not cooperating with the investigation and repeatedly failed to appear for questioning, the DCP said.
The 35-year-old was taken into custody and immediately brought to Kanpur to be produced before a court, an official said, requesting anonymity.
The official added that Mishra had been in a hospital in Delhi where he was undergoing treatment for a medical condition, according to his family.
Earlier, a police officer had told PTI, on condition of anonymity, that Mishra was arrested from a hospital, without specifying the location. In a later version, the officer said the arrest was made in Kanpur after police received information that the accused had come to the city for undisclosed reasons.
Police produced Mishra before the ACJM court around 10am, seeking 14 days' judicial custody, officials said. After preliminary questioning, he was presented before the court of the Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division), the DCP added.
District Government Counsel (Crime) Dileep Awasthi told PTI that the prosecution presented its case before the court presided over by Amit Singh, while the defence sought bail for the accused. Arguments from both sides have concluded, and the court is likely to pronounce its order later in the day on whether Mishra will be granted bail or sent to judicial custody.
The crash took place around 3pm on Sunday when a Lamborghini Revuelto, an Italian luxury sports car worth over Rs 10 crore, rammed into pedestrians and vehicles.
Mohd Taufeeq, 18, an e-rickshaw driver injured in the crash, lodged a complaint. However, counsel for the accused later claimed that Taufeeq was not keen on pursuing legal action.
Police said their preliminary probe, supported by CCTV footage and eyewitness accounts, indicated that the car was speeding before the collision.
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 First Information Report (FIR) named an “unidentified driver” as the accused. It was later amended to include Shivam Mishra after what police described as preliminary evidence linking him to the vehicle.
In Wednesday’s hearing, the local court rejected Mohan Lal’s surrender application, observing that his name did not appear in the FIR and that available evidence pointed to Mishra as the driver.
While police have stood by their findings, Mishra’s father and his counsel have maintained that he was not driving the Lamborghini at the time of the accident.
They claimed that a hired driver was at the wheel and that Mishra was unwell and suffered a medical episode during the ride — a condition his family says could have contributed to the mishap.
Mishra’s father also alleged that the car had experienced a technical issue prior to the crash. Officials said these claims are expected to be examined as part of the ongoing investigation, including potential medical and forensic evaluations.
The case has attracted widespread public attention, with social media users alleging preferential treatment and delayed action by law enforcement in the immediate aftermath of the crash.