Sambia Sohrab is the son of Mohammad Sohrab, a former RJD legislator and reported to be a Trinamool member
Sambia Sohrab, prime accused in the hit-and-run case in Kolkata in which a young Air Force officer was killed while practicing for the Republic Day parade, has confessed that he was driving the Audi SUV at the time of the incident, news agency Press Trust of India has reported.
A central agency probing the death of the corporal has examined the video of the Audi speeding by the parade and confirmed there was only one person in the car: the driver. There is no evidence of any passengers in the vehicle, the agency reported.
Sambia, son of Mohammad Sohrab, once a Rashtriya Janata Dal legislator now close to Trinamool, was arrested in Kolkata 16 January at 11:15 pm and is currently in police custody. He is charged with murder and criminal conspiracy.
26-year-old Sambia had breached multiple police barricades on the city's arterial Red Road before running over and killing 21-year-old Corporal Abhimanyu Gaud around 6:30 am on January 13.
The car was ditched by the driver after the incident and number plates purportedly removed.
Two of his friends, Noor Alam or Jonny and Shahnawaz Khan or Shanu, have told police Sambia was with them till just before the accident and was driving under the influence of alcohol.
Asked not to drive when drunk, Sambia got into a fight with Shanu and drove off alone, the families of the two friends have said.
Hours after the incident, Sambia, older brother Ambia and father Mohammad Sohrab, went missing. Ambia and Mr Shorab are still absconding. An arrest warrant has been issued against Mr Shorab.
The Trinamool has distanced itself from Mr Sohrab, saying he was a "small-time activist".
Parliamentarian Derek O' Brien denied that the Sohrabs were linked to Trinamool. "It was a reckless demon of a driver. Neither he nor his father is related to TMC. The law of the land will punish the culprit soon," he in a statement hours before Sambia's arrest.
However, several photographs have surfaced of Mr Shorab with Trinamool leaders, including Kolkata's mayor Sovan Chatterjee.