Two acquitted in 2023 New Year’s day fatal drunk and drive accident case of Banjara Hills

Banjara Hills: Damaged CCTV footage with no backup, missing names on Breath analyzer test reports, and hostile key eyewitnesses led to the acquittal of two students accused in a fatal New Year’s Day 2023 drunk driving case. The Nampally court found the evidence ‘much short of the required material’ and the prosecution failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The incident occurred at around 5:15 AM on January 1, 2023, near Royal Tiffin Centre on Road No. 2, Banjara Hills, when a car traveling from KBR Park towards Panjagutta hit two pedestrians, A. Sreenu and B. Eswari. The accident resulted in their immediate deaths and damaged two parked vehicles.

The investigation revealed that the accused were proceeding towards Panjagutta in the vehicle after consuming alcohol.Kodali Pranav Kiran, who was in a severely intoxicated condition, drove it in a rash and negligent manner and hit two pedestrians,A.Srinu and B.Eswari, causing their instant death and damaging two parked cars near Royal Tiffin Centre, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad. His friend Polisani Srivardhan Rao was sitting beside Pranav and abetted the offence. Another accused Md. Nabi removed the bodies from his hotel.

According to the Banjara Hills police, the initial investigation suggested Kodali Pranav Kiran and Polisani Srivardhan Rao were intoxicated during the incident. Police conducted breath analyzer tests showing readings of 130 mg/dl and 25 mg/dl. However, the court noted these reports didn’t contain the names of the accused.

Faulty investigation leads to acquittal

The court’s judgment highlighted critical failures in the prosecution’s case. Key eyewitnesses, including Royal Tiffin Centre workers, turned hostile during the trial. Even the one who owned a damaged car in the incident failed to identify the accused persons as those responsible for the crash.

The CCTV footage of the accident scene was damaged, with no backup. Police officers who reportedly apprehended and transported the accused to the hospital were neither listed nor examined as witnesses.

“Absolutely, there is no evidence to show that the accused Kodali Pranav Kiran and Polisani Srivardhan Rao were present at the scene of the offence and that Pranav Kiran drove the vehicle at the time of the accident and that Srivardhan Rao was sitting beside him in the four-wheeler at the time of the alleged incident. Similarly, there is no evidence to show that accused Md Nabi has removed the dead bodies from his hotel and thereby caused disappearance of evidence,” the court noted.

The court’s judgment emphasized that while evidence confirmed a road traffic accident resulting in two deaths and property damage, there was insufficient proof to establish that Kodali Pranav Kiran and Polisani Srivardhan Rao were present or involved. A third accused, Md. Nabi, charged with removing evidence from his hotel, was also acquitted due to lack of substantiating evidence. The evidence is much short of the required material to sustain the charges against the accused.

The court concluded that the prosecution’s evidence fell short of the required standard to sustain the charges against all three accused, leading to their acquittal.