India wicketkeeper batter Rishabh Pant who met with an accident in Haridwar early on Friday wasn’t speeding and was not under the influence, Uttarakhand Police said on Saturday. CCTV footage of the incident shows the car driven by the cricketer hit the road divider near his hometown Roorkee, seemingly at high speed.
Haridwar senior superintendent of police, Ajai Singh said on Saturday, “We’ve checked eight to 10 speed cameras from the Uttar Pradesh border to the accident spot in Narsan; the cricketer’s car didn’t cross the speed limit, which is 80 km per hour on that national highway. In the CCTV footage, the car appears to be at a high speed because it was tossed in the air after hitting the divider. Our technical team also inspected the accident site. We didn’t find anything that suggests overspeeding by the cricketer.”
The SSP added, “If he would have been drunk, how could he drive 200 km from Delhi and not meet with any accident for such a long distance? The doctor who gave him first aid at the Roorkee hospital also stated he was completely normal. That’s why he was able to successfully pull himself out of the car. Anybody drunk would not have been able to get out of the car.”
Uttarakhand director general of police Ashok Kumar said the cricketer dozed off at the wheel, causing the accident. A senior police official who didn’t wish to be named, said, “In the CCTV footage, the car is seemingly hitting the road divider at a high speed. Since he didn’t hit anybody, no action would be taken.”
The 25-year-old, who suffered injuries on his forehead and right knee and abrasions on the back, was rescued by the driver and conductor of a Haryana Roadways bus before being rushed in an ambulance to Saksham Hospital in Roorkee and later to Max Hospital in Dehradun.
In an early statement to the police, Pant said he didn’t remember how it happened, SP (rural), Haridwar, Swapn Kishore Singh said. Officials said forensic experts, and NHAI (highway authority) and transport department officials also examined the gutted car at the Narsan police checkpost.
Pant told me he tried to avoid a pothole: Shyam Sharma
Pant continues to be treated at Max Dehradun and is stable, an official said on Saturday. Delhi and District Cricket Association director, Shyam Sharma, met Pant at the hospital on Saturday.
He told reporters, “He is stable and recovering well. The Indian Cricket Board doctors are in touch with doctors at this hospital. Indian Cricket Board would take a call on whether he has to be shifted anywhere for the best treatment. Pant told me he tried to avoid a pothole when the accident occurred.”
