Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday demanded that the killing of a woman in a car crash in Mumbai on July 7 be treated as a murder and not a hit-and-run case.
Mihir Shah, son of Rajesh Shah – a senior leader from the faction of the Shiv Sena headed by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde – was on Tuesday arrested for allegedly crashing his BMW car into a two-wheeler, killing the woman.
The police registered a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving and destruction of evidence, among others charges, under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita against Mihir Shah, Rajesh Shah and the family’s driver Rajrishi Bidawat. Provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act were also invoked.
The police traced Mihir Shah when his friend accidentally switched on his mobile phone for 15 minutes, The Hindu reported. His mother and sister have also been detained.
Thackeray on Tuesday questioned why Mihir Shah was allowed to be on the run for 60 hours and asked who was shielding him.
Nationalist Congress Party-Sharadchandra Pawar spokesperson Clyde Crasto said that no leniency should be shown to Mihir Shah on account of his political connections, ANI reported. “We have seen before in the Pune hit-and-run case leniency was given to the accused because he had political connections,” he said.
In the Pune case, a 17-year-old, the son of a prominent city realtor, killed two persons when his car crashed into their motorbike on May 19.
On the day of the crash, the Juvenile Justice Board in Pune had granted bail to the minor, directing him to write an essay on the crash and to work with the traffic police for 15 days. The bail conditions had sparked public outrage.
‘Illegal’ portion of bar demolished
On Wednesday, municipal authorities in Mumbai demolished an allegedly illegal portion of a bar that Mihir Shah was believed to have visited before the crash, ANI reported.
Shah was suspected to have been drunk at the time of the collision. The bar owner, however, claimed that he only drank Red Bull, an energy drink, according to The Times of India.
The bar owner further claimed that his establishment had “no links with the car involved in the accident of its driver”.
The case
The crash took place in the Worli area of Mumbai on Sunday morning.
The victim, identified as Kaveri Nakhwa, was a resident of Worli Koliwada. After the crash, she was dragged on the bonnet of the car for nearly two kilometres.
Her husband Pradeep Nakhava, who also sustained injuries, was riding the bike when the crash took place. Kaveri Nakhava was riding pillion.
Rajesh Shah was arrested on Sunday for allegedly failing to cooperate with the investigation. However, he was granted bail a day later.
The Shiv Sena leader had allegedly asked his son to flee from the site and instructed the family driver, Rajrishi Rajendrasingh Bidawat, to take the wheel.
Bidawat was also arrested on Sunday and was remanded to police custody for a day on Monday.
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