KOCHI/NEW DELHI – A 17-year-old boy allegedly driving a Mercedes-Benz at 104 kmph rammed into a scooter in Kochi around 2:20 am on Sunday, killing a 55-year-old street food vendor on the spot. The victim, Jayabalakrishnan, was heading home after finishing his work shift. The teenager is the son of an additional district sessions judge, and the case has now sparked questions about whether the law treats the rich and the powerful differently.
The Accident
Jayabalakrishnan’s daughter, Bhadrakeerthi, said she spoke to her father at 1:49 am, just as he was leaving work. Around 4:30 am, police called her to say he had been in an accident. She was in Hyderabad at the time and told NDTV that she had been woken from sleep by the call.
Two Bail Orders in Quick Succession
The accused secured bail twice within a short time. The first came at the police station, after his judge father arrived within 45 minutes of the crash. The second came before a magistrate, after the victim’s family held a late-night protest.
“First Time Driving” Claim Questioned
The Mercedes is registered in the father’s name. He has said his son was driving the car for the first time that day. Bhadrakeerthi says this is false. “We have evidence that he drove before. His father is trying to save him,” she told NDTV. She also claimed the teenager had sent his friends snapshots of himself driving at 200 kmph.
Independent checks of the teenager’s social media and accounts from police sources also contradicted the claim. Before the crash, he ran a public Instagram account with more than 2,500 followers, where he regularly posted driving reels. Sources said several videos showed him driving the same Mercedes at speeds of up to 200 kmph. Within hours of the crash, all the posts were deleted and the account was made private.
What the Police Say
Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar confirmed that the car was being driven by a minor and that provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act have been applied. He said police have evidence that the car was moving at very high speed. At first, there were no eyewitnesses or CCTV footage, but investigators later found a video showing the vehicle going faster than 100 kmph.
Based on this, police added Section 105 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which covers culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board, and police are filing an appeal against the Board’s decision.
Family Alleges Rude Treatment and Bias
Bhadrakeerthi accused the accused’s father of behaving rudely and arrogantly. She said her cousin was handling the police procedures when the judge allegedly told the family not to question him and said they could question the police instead. “His son killed my father and he is supporting his son. What is this?” she asked.
She added that “even if he’s 17 or 35, a criminal is always a criminal,” and said that if the father is protecting his son, “the father will go to jail.”
She also claimed the police were afraid to act because the accused’s father is a judge. “We are commoners, they can do anything to us,” she said. In her words, if you have money, the law will be on your side, but a commoner faces a different law.
What Happens Next
Police are continuing their investigation, and their appeal against the JJ Board’s decision is being filed. The case is likely to keep drawing attention, as the victim’s family continues to demand justice.
