Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 7: In yet another high-profile road accident, a fisherwoman was killed by a speeding luxury car driven by the drunken son of a senior Maharashtra political leader at Worli in Mumbai in the wee hours of Sunday.
The 24-year old Mihir Shah, who was driving the car, is the son of Rajesh Shah, deputy leader of the chief minister Eknath Shinde led-Shiv Sena in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. The politician and his driver, Rajendra Singh Bijawat, are now in police custody, while Mihir Shah is absconding.
The deceased was 45 year-old Kaveri Nakhwa, a resident of Koliwada area of Worli, who was pillion-riding on a scooter driven by her husband Pradik Nakhwa. The BMW car coming from behind hit the scooter throwing both the riders on the way side. The speeding car continued to run crushing the woman under its wheels while the husband who fell on the other side of the road escaped with some bruises.
The police said the accident happened at 5.30 a.m. near Atria-The Millennium Mall at Dr Annie Besant Road in Mumbai’s Worli. After sourcing fish from Sassoon dock, Kaveri Nakhwa, along with her husband, was heading back to their usual spot in Worli to sell fish — a daily routine for the couple. But suddenly the speeding luxury car (identified as BMW) rammed into their scooter and the Nakhwa couple lost control of the scooter.
“Mr Nakhwa fell off the scooter to another side, whereas his wife fell on the bonnet of the car. The car continued to drive, dragging the victim, Ms Nakhwa, for about 100 metres before she was thrown on the road. Instead of stopping the car, the driver continued to drive and after the woman was thrown on the road, they fled the crime scene,” the official said, adding “People at the accident spot, rushed Nakhwa to the nearest Nair Hospital where she was declared brought dead by the doctors. Her husband is undergoing treatment.”
As per the police, there were two people in the car at the time of the accident. The car has been seized. “We have detained one person and are on the lookout for another person who was present in the car. Legal and medical proceedings are ongoing. The number plate of the car was removed when it was brought to the police station,” a police officer said.
Police also suspects that Mihir Shah, who is on the run, was drunk at the time of the incident. His blood test report is awaited. 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.
The vehicle is registered in Mihir Shah’s name. 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 on 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 the scooter.
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.
Expressing grief on the unfortunate accident, the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed his condolences for the victim and the family and said, “This is a very unfortunate accident, and it should not have happened in the first place. I have ordered for the strictest and stringent investigation into the case, and I assure that the culprit will not get any relief irrespective of their social or political influence.”
Pradik, who has suffered minor injuries, however, is sceptical about action against the guilty. “These are big people, nobody will do anything, we will suffer,” he felt.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray met the victim’s husband at a police station in Mumbai and demanded that the accused driver be arrested. He later said he did not want to give any political colour to the case but the accused has to be arrested “without any political influence.” “It’s heart-wrenching. I don’t want to give any political colour to it. We have demanded the culprit be arrested. I met the victim, he told me how it happened. It was a clear hit-and-run,” he said.
In a post on X, the Shiv Sena leader said traffic rule violations have become more frequent in Mumbai and demanded severe punishment for those who break road rules. “Driving cars in the wrong direction, jumping signals, tripling… everything is increasing in Mumbai! Now things like hit and run have started happening! Even if the person who caused the accident is arrested immediately, it is necessary not to allow such incidents to happen. For that, we have to go beyond politics and improve this situation! Drivers will be disciplined and offenders will be severely punished!” he wrote.
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.
