Mumbai, July 9, 2024
The Mumbai Police, after almost 60 hours of manhunt, traced and arrested prime accused Mihir R. Shah in connection with the Worli fatal BMW crash which on Sunday claimed the life of a fisherwoman, officials said on Tuesday.
The accused was arrested from his hideout near Virar in Palghar.
Mihir, 24, the son of Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah, was absconding after a hit-and-run accident just before dawn on Sunday (July 7) in Worli. The incident sparked a huge political furore and a public outrage.
He, allegedly in an inebriated state, was speeding the high-end car when it rammed into a scooter on which fisher-folk couple Pradip Nakhwa, 50, and his wife Kaveri, 45, were returning home from Sassoon Dock in Colaba.
While Kaveri was dragged over 100 metres and fell violently to her instant death, Pradip managed to jump off and survived, and is clamouring for justice and compensation.
After abandoning his white BMW, several kilometres away near Bandra, Mihir scooted from there, leaving behind the driver Rajrishi Bidawat, who was later arrested and sent to police custody for a day.
Besides Mihir, a few other persons who were allegedly partying with him early that morning and later reportedly helped him escape from Mumbai to Palghar, have also been rounded up as the police came under pressure following the high-profile incident involving a ruling party politician.
That day (Sunday), Chief Minister Eknath Shinde assured that no one is above the law and promised justice in the case.
The same night, the Worli police arrested Shiv Sena Deputy Leader Rajesh Shah and driver Bidawat; and formed six probe teams which scoured various locations in and around Mumbai, Thane, Raigad and Palghar, ultimately tracing Mihir to Virar Phata area in Virar town.
Rajesh Shah, who was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by a Mumbai court, later secured a provisional bail on Monday while Bidawat’s police custody has been extended till July 11, as investigations continue.
Already facing a look-out circular since Monday, Mihir has been sent for a medical examination and is likely to be produced before the court on Wednesday.
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray said that as the accused (Mihir) has been found after nearly three days, no medical tests will prove him intoxicated. “Instead, the police should rely on the CCTV footage, eyewitness accounts and the statement of the victim’s husband and book the accused on stringent charges of murder,” he said.
The incident took place at around 5.30 a.m. on July 7. Mihir was allegedly drunk and at the wheel of the BMW when he banged into a scooter of the Nakhwa couple.
Pradip and his deceased wife were returning home after buying fish at Sassoon Docks for reselling in the local markets. They were flung on the bonnet of the speeding BMW.
Pradip later told mediapersons that he screamed at the driver to stop, but he kept speeding and after nearly 100 metres Kaveri fell violently and succumbed, while he jumped off to survive with injuries.
The Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders including Aditya Thackeray, Kishori Pednekar, Congress’ MP Varsha Gaikwad, state general secretary Sachin Sawant and others have called on the Nakhwa family following the incident and assured them of justice.
Mihir has been booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash and dangerous driving, causing grievous hurt, destruction of evidence, giving false information, not taking the injured to hospital, not informing the police and offences under the Motor Vehicles Act.(Agency)
