Ace Indian rally driver Gaurav Gill has been granted bail by the Jodhpur court over the untoward incident during the Rally Of Jodhpur in September this year. Gill was booked under Section 304A of IPC by the investigating agency, which caused the death of three villagers that had accidentally made their way on to the rally circuit on a motorcycle. The Arjuna Awardee appeared before the Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate- Siwana, Jodhpur and the court on considering the totality of facts and circumstances granted him bail pending trial. The incident sparked protests by the locals, while also bringing the permissions and the organising committee under scrutiny.
Gaurav Gill presented himself before the court on October 19, 2019, as required by the police and based on the evaluation of the facts, the police have ruled out the 304 IPC charge - culpable homicide not amounting to murder, on the driver. With the bail granted, gill and co-driver Musa Sherif will be making a comeback to Indian rallying and will be participating in the upcoming Indian National Rally Championship scheduled from November 1-3, 2019, in Kochi. The driver had miss out of the 2019 Wales Rally, as part of WRC2, which was scheduled between October 3-6, 2019. Gill entered WRC2 this year as a registered driver and had a promising start to the season with the Rally of Turkey in September this year.
The Rally of Jodhpur saw an unfortunate incident that involved India's top drivers - Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif. The drivers were on the first leg of the rally when the deceased made their way on the track despite repeated warnings from the marshalls. The driver was around a corner at over 140 kmph, resulting in a collision with the motorcycle that was unavoidable. The three locals, the father, mother and the child were riding without helmets and lost their lives in the incident.
The FIR filed by the victims' kin suggested that the driver went off the rally circuit and dragged the victims along with them, which has been denied by the organisers and promoters of INRC. The organisers had also taken the necessary permissions from the local government.
