May 13: Sonika Singh Chauhan's parents, who had refrained from making any public statement after their 27-year-old daughter died on the morning of April 29, are desperate to know "the truth" about the fatal car crash and what happened immediately after that.

A fortnight after the tragedy, sources close to the family said the bereaved parents are still in the dark about the last hour of their daughter's life and are left wondering "who must take responsibility" for some "glaring lapses" in the investigation. Their fear is of a "cover-up".

Sonika was killed on April 29 when a Toyota Corolla Altis her friend, actor Vikram Chatterjee, was driving crashed on Rashbehari Avenue.

Vikram was inebriated by his own admission but he has been charged with bailable sections of causing death due to negligence and rash and negligent driving.

Sonika's parents Vijay and Sharon are asking:

• Why was there such a delay in informing us? The accident took place at 3.30am. Sonika was declared dead at 4.50am at Ruby Hospital. But we were not told till 8.45am. That was more than five hours after the crash. Why?

• Why were Sonika's phone and wallet handed over to Vikram's friend? Instead of seizing them as evidence, police not just handed them over but also asked Vikram's friend to try and unlock her phone. It was handed over to us much later. Why?

• Was a breathalyser test done on Vikram? Was the blood test and urine test on Vikram for detecting alcohol in blood done within the stipulated time, this being an accident case? If not, why?

• Why was evidence like cellphones, blood-stained clothes and IDs of Sonika casually handed over to us by police at the hospital? All these items were unsealed. And then after 11 days the police came to our house to seize the same things. Why the delay? Why were these things not seized on April 29?

• Why was the Toyota Corolla Altis, a crucial piece of evidence, handled in a lax manner? The car was first casually left in the open in front of the Tollygunge police station for all and sundry to view and physically handle.

• Why was the first forensic test on the car done 30 hours after the incident?

• Why was footage from Lake Mall, closest to the accident site, not collected as evidence?

• Why did the local police station refuse to charge Vikram with a 304 in spite of the family giving a written complaint about drink driving? Why is the officer-in-charge of the local police station coming across as a key player in the cover-up?

• There were photographs in the media showing Vikram Chatterjee's father playing carom in the Tollygunge police station even as his son was being interrogated. Does it not show how familiar the accused party is with the local police?

• Why was the statement of the witness registered only after eight days of the incident?

A section of the police and others in the know have alleged that the lax policing is a result of the "clout of a powerful minister and an influential businessman" who had reached the hospital on the morning of the tragedy.

Tollygunge police station officer-in-charge Anup Kumar Ghosh did not take calls today.