Rally deaths: Govt says no permission given for Barmer car rally

“No permission was given to the rally, neither security arrangements were made for the rally,” the CMO said in a statement.

Arjuna awardee and three-time FIA Asia-Pacific Rally champion Gaurav Gill was among the two drivers booked in connection with the accident, while the companies involved in the event — Maxperienace, Mahindra, JK Tyres, MRF Tyres and the Federation of Motor Sports Club of India — have also been named in the FIR.

The 22-year-old man who lost his parents and younger brother during the rally also alleged that locals were not informed about the rally.

READ | Top Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill involved in accident, 3 dead

In his complaint, Rahul alleged that his parents, Narendra Kumar and Pushpa Devi, were on a motorcycle at around 8:30 am and had stopped by a farm after spotting their son Jitendra, and were talking to him.

“Upon spotting the rally cars they tried to escape but a fast, uncontrolled rally car with a Maharashtra number plate came on the wrong side and hit all three of them, while also damaging the motorcycle,” he said in his complaint, accessed by The Indian Express.

Subsequently, two other cars, bearing Punjab and Chandigarh number plates, also rammed into the three, “killing them on the spot,” as per Rahul.

An FIR was filed at Samadari police station under IPC section 304 – culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The accident took place on Saturday during the third round of The Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) Indian National Rally Championship 2019.

The event was titled Maxperience Rally 2019, after the organisers Madcap Adventure Xperiences Private Limited, headquartered in Gurugram. FMSCI is the governing body for motorsport in India and its president J Prithviraj was also the Clerk of the Course for the rally. The race, scheduled between September 20 and 22, originally involved a gravel course of about 300 kilometres but was called off after the accident.

Following the incident, the villagers sat with the bodies, reportedly demanding Rs one crore, a job for the kin, as well as action against government officials for not taking necessary precautions regarding the rally.

“The stalemate is continuing. Efforts are being made to end it but the organisers of the rally are not cooperating. The villages are demanding since yesterday that the organisers come to the spot but they are not responding,” SHO Buta Ram told PTI.