Senior Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah was arrested on Sunday in a hit-and-run case involving his son Mihir Shah in which a BMW killed a woman on a bike in Worli. The politician and his driver, Rajendra Singh Bijawat, were arrested for not cooperating with the police, among other charges, and will be produced in court.
Twenty four- year-old Mihir Shah, who is the main accused in the case, is on the run and the police are trying to nab him.
At the time of the accident, police said, the Sena leader’s son and their driver were in the luxury car. According to police sources, Mihir Shah drank at a bar in Juhu last night. On his way home, he asked the driver to take him for a long drive. The car came to Worli and then Mihir insisted that he would drive. Soon after he took the wheel, the speeding BMW hit a scooter.
Victim Kaveri Nakva (45) and her husband Pradik Nakva, residents of Worli’s Koliwada area, were on their scooter. The fish-seller couple went to Sassoon Dock daily to fetch fish. They were on their way back, when the BMW crashed into their two-wheeler.
The two were thrown into the air and crashed on the bonnet of the SUV. As the car kept speeding, Kaveri Nakva was run over. The car fled the spot and the woman was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. Her husband, Pradik, suffered minor injuries. The incident occurred around 5:30am.
Police sources have said Mihir called his father and told him about the crash. His phone has been off since then. Four police teams are looking for him.
The police’s investigation has also revealed attempts to destroy evidence. The car’s windshield has a Shiv Sena sticker, which has been scratched, apparently to conceal the vehicle’s link with the Sena leader. One of the car’s number plates was also removed after the accident, but police scanned the CCTV footage of the area to zero in on the vehicle.
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena Leader Eknath Shinde has termed the incident “unfortunate” and assured that strict action will be taken. He said that the law will take its own course, everyone is equal before law.
The incident comes months after a similar case of drink-driving left two 24-year-old engineers dead in Pune. The minor accused in the Pune crash was speeding a Porsche car after a round of drinking. The teen’s father, a prominent realtor, his mother and his grandfather were arrested in the aftermath of the accident for allegedly attempting to destroy evidence.
A case has been registered under the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita under sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving and destruction of evidence, among others. Provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act have also been invoked.
