Kochi Mini Cooper crash: Remand report confirms drinking spree; police suspect drug use, street racing

Kochi: A night of bar-hopping that stretched into the early hours of Sunday preceded the fatal Mini Cooper crash near Athani that killed three young scooter riders, with the police now investigating whether the 19-year-old driver had also consumed narcotic substances and whether the luxury car was involved in an illegal street race.

The remand report submitted by the Nedumbassery police before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-I in Angamaly details the drinking spree involving Suhail Sajeev and his friends before the crash. The police are examining whether Suhail was under the influence of illegal drugs in addition to being heavily drunk when his black BMW Mini Cooper rammed into the scooter.

Suhail has been remanded to 14 days of judicial custody and shifted to the Kakkanad Borstal School. The police will move an application before the court on Wednesday seeking his custody for two days for detailed interrogation.

Night of bar-hopping
According to the remand report prepared by Inspector Arun B K, Suhail and his 19-year-old friend Ninav began drinking on Saturday evening, October 10, visiting multiple bars in Kochi city.

Around midnight, the duo met their friends Ameer (20) and Joel (20) at the bar inside a luxury hotel in Nedumbassery, where the drinking continued.

The report states that Ninav, Ameer and Joel knew that driving in a severely intoxicated state posed an imminent threat to human lives. However, they allegedly made no effort to prevent Suhail from driving. Instead, the three boarded the Mini Cooper as passengers, encouraged him to take the wheel and incited him to drive at high speeds along the four-lane Nedumbassery Airport-Athani road.

The three co-passengers have also been arraigned as accused for allegedly aiding and abetting the fatal incident.

Drug use and street racing under probe
The police have cited suspected narcotics consumption and the possibility of illegal racing among the grounds for opposing bail.
Investigators are verifying whether Suhail had consumed illicit drugs along with alcohol before driving. They are also examining whether the Mini Cooper was involved in an illegal road race or speed competition with another vehicle at the time of the collision.

The remand report further expresses concern that Suhail, given his affluent and influential background, could tamper with evidence, intimidate witnesses or abscond if released on bail.

Nedumbassery police said that biological samples had been sent for chemical examination.
“The fluid analysis reports are expected in a day or two. However we have invoked Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act (drunk driving), in addition to Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), along with Sections 281, 49, and 3(5) of the BNS,” a senior said.

The crash occurred around 1.45 am on Sunday, October 11, near Valeppuram, close to Suvarnodyanam, approximately 300 metres east of the Athani Airport Signal Junction.

The Mini Cooper was travelling west along the southern track when it rammed into a Karnataka-registered scooter from behind.

The scooter was ridden by Eyas, 20, a native of Sullia in Dakshina Kannada. His colleagues and friends, Devika and Gopika, were travelling pillion.

The impact threw all three onto the road, leaving them with fatal head injuries and severe internal trauma. Eyas and Devika were rushed to Desom CA Hospital, while Gopika was taken to Angamaly Taluk Hospital. All three succumbed to their injuries.

Following Suhail’s arrest on Sunday morning, the police seized his iPhone and the Mini Cooper as part of the investigation.
“We will submit an application before the court on Wednesday seeking two days of police custody of Suhail. Deciding on whether the co-accused will also be taken into police custody will be finalised after consultations with senior officials,” the officer added.

The MVD and police officers, along with BMW technical experts, are also scheduled to conduct a joint inspection of the car and retrieve data from its Event Data Recorder (EDR).

The data is expected to help investigators establish the vehicle’s speed, throttle input and braking pattern in the seconds before the impact, providing crucial evidence to reconstruct the crash.