Organisers had not taken permission for rally: Official

BARMER: Initial probe into the incident in which Arjuna awardee and three-time Asia Pacific rally champion Gaurav Gill’s car had hit a motorcycle killing three members of a family in Barmer district on September 21 has revealed that the organisers had not taken permission for the event, said BL Kothari, the divisional commissioner.

Kothari, who was in Barmer on Sunday to probe the matter, told reporters that the organisers had merely informed the authorities about the event, but they were not issued any permission for the event. “While meeting with the victims, villagers, local authorities and those having any connection with the incident I found that organisers neither had informed the villagers nor displayed any publicity hoardings for the event,” said Kothari.

It may be recalled that taking serious note of the September 21 incident, the state government had removed Barmer district collector and superintendent of police and ordered a divisional commissioner level probe into the matter directing the office to submit the report within seven days.

A week after the incident, Kothari visited the spot on Sunday and started investigation into the matter. He met the family members of the deceased and others to enquire into the incident.

The family members and local representatives told Kothari that only ₹1 lakh compensation was provided to the kin of each deceased, which was not sufficient. They demanded for more compensation.