Kanpur:  In a startling development in the Kanpur Lamborghini crash case, tobacco tycoon K K Mishra’s son, Shivam Mishra was granted bail on a personal bond of Rs 20,000, hours after his arrest. Shivam Mishra was arrested at 10 am on Thursday, only to be released at 3 pm, making it a 5-hour outing for the tobacco baron's son.

The Kanpur court refused to grant police remand. The police had sought Shivam's custody for further investigation.

Earlier on Thursday, Shivam Mishra's lawyer, Narendra Kumar Yadav, claimed that his client has been wrongly arrested by the police and asserted that Mishra was not driving the vehicle at the time of the crash.

Speaking to ANI, Yadav said, “He (Shivam Mishra) has been wrongly arrested by the police. He was not driving the car." Mishra was arrested on Thursday, four days after the luxury vehicle rammed into multiple vehicles which left one person injured.

DCP Central Kanpur Atul Kumar Srivastava had earlier said that the investigation has established that Mishra was driving the car at the time of the accident.

"We got information that he (Shivam Mishra) is in Kanpur. Five teams were formed, and we have arrested him, and he has been presented in court. In the investigation, it has been found that during the accident, Shivam Mishra was driving the car," he said.

The accident occurred near Jhula Park Crossing on February 8 afternoon. The Lamborghini hit an autorickshaw, a motorcycle, and later crashed into a pole. According to multiple eyewitnesses the car was being driven at a high speed at the time of the incident.

However, on Wednesday, Shivam Mishra's driver came forward and claimed that he was driving the Lamborghini at the time of the incident, while Mishra was sitting beside him.

"He (Shivam Mishra) had a seizure. Suddenly, his arms and legs started shaking, and he fell on me. I was there (at the spot). I was there on the day the accident happened. The bouncer pulled me out (of the car)," the driver said.

The lawyer, Narendra Kumar Yadav, also asserted that the driver had submitted an affidavit accepting responsibility for the accident.

"The injured and the plaintiff in the case reached a settlement and have received all the compensation, and after receiving it, he has written a line below that he does not want any action in this case. Now that he has received the compensation, he does not want any action. After this, who can make a better plea than him? He himself has identified the driver," Narendra Kumar Yadav said.

Earlier, Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal said that Shivam Mishra was behind the wheels at the time of the incident, based on the evidence collected so far, including CCTV footage.

"When Shivam's name comes up in our investigation, it means that we are satisfied that the driver was Shivam, so they can keep saying anything. We have CCTV footage. His name has been included in the FIR," he said. The case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Sections 281, 125(a), 125(b), and 324(4). (With ANI inputs)