Vikram Chatterjee charged with culpable homicide

KOLKATA: Police on Wednesday evening submitted a chargesheet against actor Vikram Chatterjee in an Alipore court, implicating him in the death of model Sonika Singh Chauhan, who was killed in a car accident early on April 29. He was charged with culpable homicide, besides rash driving, causing grievous hurt, mischief and driving by a drunken person or by a person under the influence of drugs.
“The chargesheet pertaining to the Sonika Singh Chauhan death case was submitted to a court on Wednesday,” said DC (south) Praveen Tripathi.
Following his arrest a little after midnight on July 6, Vikram was sent to the Presidency Correctional Home to serve a fortnight-long prison remand slated to end on July 24. His bail plea was expected to come up for hearing on Thursday.
The chargesheet cited around 40 witnesses, eight of whom recorded their statements before a judicial magistrate. They included Vikram and Sonika’s common friends — who allegedly saw him drink at pubs before taking the wheel on the fateful night — a KMC conservancy worker and a taxi driver. The last two were the first to reach the accident spot. Cops at the Tollygunge police station also used Sonika’s post-mortem report and the test results of Vikram’s car to build the case.
Lawyers pointed out that with the chargesheet being submitted a day before Vikram’s bail plea hearing, their arguments would be stronger. “The police have made it clear their probe is over and so, Vikram doesn’t have to be kept in court custody. The possibilities of Vikram evading the probe or influencing the procedure don’t arise anymore,” a lawyer said.
An officer claimed they were ready with the draft chargesheet almost two weeks ago but were waiting for clarification on two points. “We had asked for video grabs from his press conference, where he made certain claims. That will be used as evidence of how he tried to mislead investigators. We also wanted to know from the forensic team the exact time Vikram was seen at the Gariahat crossing, just before the accident on Rashbehari Avenue,” the officer said. “No forensic report is pending. There was no hindrance on our part in filing the chargesheet,” said an officer from the south division.