Thiruvananthapuram: Scientific evidence indicates that the car accident in which violinist Balabhaskar lost his life took place owing to overspeeding. It has been found that the vehicle was travelling at 100 kmph when it rammed the tree. This speed was shown in the speedometer which stopped working when the mishap occurred.
A report prepared jointly by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) and the car manufacturer says that immediately before the accident the vehicle had a speed of 100-120 kmph. The report, finalized after elaborate inspections including recreating the accident, has been submitted to the Crime Branch.
Meanwhile, the blood samples and hair collected from the driving seat have been sent for DNA test to identify who was at the wheel during the mishap. However, the results of the test are not yet ready.
At the same time, the investigating team had informed the Kerala High Court that it had not found any evidence linking Balabhaskar's death to gold smuggling.
Last month, the investigating team had crashed an Innova car similar to the one involved in the accident into a tree at the spot of the accident at Pallippuram to assess the damage. They wanted to see the extent of damage and the possibility of an over-speeding vehicle losing control and crashing into the tree.
The experiments were repeated at different angles.
Representatives of the car manufacturers were also present. The police relied on witness testimony that the car had overtaken a bus before crashing into the tree.
According to documents handed over to the crime branch by the motor vehicles department, Balabhaskar's car was zooming past the speed limits.
When the family started from Thrissur at 11:30pm, driver Arjun was at the wheel. The car was spotted by a surveillance camera at Chalakkudi at 1:08 am at a speed of 94 kilometres per hour. At 3:45 am, it crashed at Pallippuram. The car took only 2.37 hours to cover 231 kilometres from Chalakkudi to Pallipuram.
Balabhaskar's wife had said Arjun was at the wheel. Though Arjun initially corroborated the statement, he changed his version later. Even the eyewitness accounts varied.
The car in which Balabhaskar and family were travelling met with an accident at Pallippuram in Thiruvananthapuram on September 25 last year. The musician’s daughter Tejaswini Bala died on the spot. While Balabhaskar succumbed to his injuries in hospital on October 2, his wife Lakshmi suffered serious injuries in the mishap.
