Kolkata: Speeding car kills Air Force drill instructor during Republic Day rehearsal

Air Force drill instructor, Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud was run over by a speeding vehicle during Republic Day preparations on Red Road on Wednesday morning. The driver has fled from the spot.

Around 6.30 am, a drill was on, in the run-up to the Republic Day on 26 January, when a vehicle entered the area that had been cordoned off. When Gaud tried to stop the vehicle near the south gate of Fort William - the Eastern Command headquarters, it hit him. Gaud was taken to the Military hospital in Alipore, where he was declared dead.

The driver of the vehicle - an Audi, tore off the temporary number plates and fled from the spot.

The car that hit Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud 

Kolkata Police Commissioner Surajit Kar Purkayastha reached the spot to take stock of the situation. "We are examining the CCTV footage. It is very unprecedented how he parked his car and fled. We have begun an investigation into the case," said Purkayastha.

Meanwhile, the Air Force has filed an FIR with the Maidan Police Station and the Kolkata Police have begun a lookout for the accused driver.

On the other hand, Kolkata Police has transferred the case to the homicide department of the Detective Department. Air Force officials will assist civil police in the investigation.

However, sources in the Defence Ministry claim that there were serious lapses on the part of the Kolkata Police, who are responsible for cordoning off the Red Road during the parade rehearsal as civilians are barred from entering the road.