Vikram Chatterjee and the Sonika Chauhan Case (2017): The Facts and Where the Case Stands
A 2017 Kolkata car crash killed model and host Sonika Chauhan; actor Vikram Chatterjee was driving. The charges, the arrest, the High Court order and what no source says.
Follow for the next update
Never miss a Bengali release. We ping you for new films, big scores and the Friday digest. One tap to stop.
Films in this article
This concerns a criminal case in which the accused is presumed innocent until a court rules. Facts are from published reports available on 20 October 2026.
What happened
On 29 April 2017 television host and model Sonika Chauhan died in a car crash in Kolkata. Actor Vikram Chatterjee was driving. Police said the car hit a pavement near Rashbehari Avenue around 4:30 am while trying to avoid another vehicle. Chauhan was declared dead at hospital and Chatterjee was admitted with injuries (The Quint).
The charges
- He was first booked for death by rash and negligent driving, which carries up to two years.
- On 30 May 2017 police changed the sections to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 IPC), which carries up to 10 years.
- Police said CCTV footage, friends’ statements and forensic reports showed he was drunk; he initially told reporters he was not. One report says laboratory evidence of intoxication could not be confirmed. Sources differ.
Arrest and court steps
He was granted anticipatory bail, was reported to be absconding, and was arrested in July 2017; reports differ on exactly where and when (Millennium Post). A later Calcutta High Court order directed the Alipore court to start the trial, after a petition said the charge sheet had been filed in July 2017 but the case had not been committed. A Times of India headline dated 29 September 2025, cited on Wikipedia, says grave charges were framed; we could not read it, so we do not describe its content. We found no verdict, conviction or acquittal.
The political angle
BJP leader Locket Chatterjee accused TMC leaders of shielding him. That is an allegation by a political opponent and the reports we read do not confirm it. We found no reliable source for who, if anyone, helped him.
Questions people ask
Was Vikram Chatterjee convicted?
We found no verdict. Check the Alipore court records or recent news for the current status.
Who died in the crash?
Sonika Chauhan, a TV host and model.
