Unanswered questions in the Sonika-Vikram accident case

In the wee hours of April 29, an earth-shattering crash woke up residents of Lake Market area. A white sedan had crashed into a lamppost and turned on its side. The fatal accident killed model and TV host Sonika Chauhan and left her friend, Vikram Chatterjee, who was in the driver’s seat, severely injured. But even a week after the mishap, though the police claim a thorough investigation is underway, there remains more questions than answers.Witnesses have come out and made startling claims. Vikram, they say, was indeed drinking through that night — starting around 9.30 pm and lasting till 3.30 am. When CT got in touch with those who were with the duo that night, the versions were contradictory.
1. Where were Sonika and Vikram from 2.15 am to 3.30 am (when the accident allegedly happened)?
2. Why didn’t Sonika, a driver herself, not propose to drive the car if Vikram was drinking all night and allegedly driving the car at breakneck speed?
3. Why was the CCTV footage from Rashbehari Avenue not taken into account to validate whether another car really came across from the other side?
4. Was a blood alcohol test done on Vikram? Where are the reports?
5. Why was the video of Vikram drinking not produced before the police the day after the mishap?
6. Sonika stays in Hastings and Vikram, in Kasba. Where was their car heading and where were they coming from?
Pranay Vaidya, who bumped into Sonika and Vikram at a nightclub around 1.30 am, remembers Vikram drinking although he stresses on visual proof to validate his claim. “I hugged Sonika and I had no idea whether Vikram was accompanying her. I met him a little later. I clearly remember one thing — Sonika wasn’t drunk that night.” Another source, on terms of anonymity, shared that Sonika too was drinking that night. Was this why she wasn’t behind the wheel and trusted Vikram instead? Why didn’t she come back with her boyfriend Shaheb Bhattacherjee despite being asked to?
The questions are aplenty but answers are few. Video evidences clearly show Vikram drinking that night. Witnesses have come out to say that not only was he mixing his drinks throughout the night, he was also offering his friends alcohol. Why then, is he lying? Is it the pressure of the case getting murkier or is the truth hidden beneath heaps of misinformation? Police, our sources tell us, have their hands on all the crucial evidences, including CCTV footage from all the clubs the duo visited.
A friend of both Sonika and Vikram has raised a pertinent question. He asks, “Where were the two between 2.15 am and 3.30 am, when the accident allegedly took place? Were they driving around the city in the car or were they partying elsewhere?” The battle, the source adds, is, far from over. “We are hoping that the authorities will delve deeper into the evidence they have laid their hands on and unearth the truth.”