Witness alleges Tathya Patel’s father drove him away from Iskcon Bridge after fatal crash

In the Iskcon Bridge accident case, a prosecution witness on Tuesday told a local court in Ahmedabad that after the fatal crash, in which nine people were killed, the father of the accused arrived at the spot, argued with those present and drove his son away even as victims lay injured and bloodied on the road.

Dilip Vitthalbhai Chavda, the seventh witness to depose in the case, made the statement during the trial against Tathya Patel, who is accused of driving a Jaguar car over 140 kmph and mowing down pedestrians and police personnel on the bridge.

Chavda also identified the accused, who appeared before the court through video conferencing. With his testimony, statements of seven witnesses have been recorded so far. 

The Ahmedabad Rural Court has scheduled further hearings in the upcoming days.

During the hearing, Chief Public Prosecutor Praveen Trivedi questioned Chavda in detail about the incident. The witness stated that on July 19, 2023, he had come to Ahmedabad for work along with his friends Alpeshbhai and Vishnubhai in a Scorpio vehicle. Around 1.15 pm, while crossing the Iskcon Bridge, they noticed a crowd had gathered on the bridge following an accident involving a Thar vehicle and a dumper.

Chavda said they parked their vehicle to see what had happened. While they were standing there, a Jaguar car suddenly entered the bridge from the Rajpath Club side at very high speed and in a reckless manner. “Before anyone could react, the car mowed down people standing there, including police personnel. Several people were thrown into the air,” he told the court.

According to the witness, the Jaguar stopped some distance ahead, and a young man got out of the vehicle and was caught by people at the spot. When asked his name, he identified himself as Tathya Patel. Chavda said he saw the accused from close quarters.

He further stated that within a few minutes, a black Fortuner arrived at the scene. The man who stepped out of the vehicle got into an argument with those present, made the accused sit in the car and left the spot. It later emerged that the man was the accused’s father, Pragnesh Patel, Chavda stated.

Describing the aftermath of the crash as “horrific, shocking and heartbreaking”, the witness said the scene was chaotic, with victims and injured persons screaming in pain.