BMW crash: 'Accused said he was 26,' says bar that served liquor to Mihir Shah

Mihir Shah, the accused in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, allegedly gave an identity card which showed his age as 27 at the bar where he consumed liquor before the accident in which a woman was killed.

Mihir, the son of a Shiv Sena leader, was arrested on Tuesday (July 9) from neighbouring Thane district, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45), who was riding pillion, and injuring her husband Pradeep. The horrific accident was captured in CCTV cameras of the police installed at Mela Junction and Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk in Worli.

Mihir said he was 27, gave ID card: Bar management

NDTV quoting records in the case said that the pub management has said that Mihir, who is actually 23 and below the legal drinking age of 25 in Maharashtra, told them he was 27 years old and even showed them an identity card to back the same to enter the pub.

Three other youths who partook of the drinks with Mihir were aged over 30, the records said.

Excise officials citing the bar’s bill said the group consumed 12 large pegs of whiskey – roughly four pegs each – on the day of the accident. The officials told Times of India that the amount of alcohol was enough to keep a person intoxicated for eight hours at a stretch.

The Mumbai civic body had on Wednesday (July 10) demolished a portion of the bar that was illegally constructed.

Mihir drank at two places on accident day: Police

It has also been found during investigations that Mihir consumed alcohol at two different places on the night of the incident and had forcefully taken the car keys from the driver to drive the vehicle near Girgaon Chowpatty, Mumbai Police said on Thursday (July 11).

Meanwhile, Mihir has admitted before police that he was driving the car at the time of the crash, officials said.

After crashing into the couple's scooter in the early hours of Sunday, Mihir was very much aware that the woman was stuck in one of the tyres of the luxury car, but still he drove recklessly and did not stop though motorists passing by frantically signalled and shouted, asking him to halt, an official said on Wednesday.

Police after perusing CCTV footage said Mihir stopped the car after dragging the woman for more than a kilometre and then swapped seats with the driver.

They said, he removed the woman’s body that was stuck below the engine bay and the bumper and left it on the road. After that his driver reversed the BMW and ran over the woman’s body before zipping off, police said.

To conceal his identity, Mihir shaved his beard and trimmed his hair, the official said, adding they were trying to find out if anyone helped him in changing his appearance.

Mihir in police custody till July 16

Mihir, who is in police custody till July 16, has claimed he possesses a driving licence, but the document was yet to be recovered.

So far, the statements of 14 persons, including Mihir Shah's mother, sisters and friends, have been recorded, the official said.

The police on Thursday also recreated the sequence of events that led to the death of Kaveri. Police also questioned Mihir and his driver together.

Mihir’s father Rajesh Shah, a Shiv Sena politician from adjoining Palghar district, is also an accused in the case and currently out on bail.

During interrogation, the accused, whose family chauffeur was sitting besides him, admitted he was behind the wheel at the time of the crash, but did not tell the police from which point he started driving and till when, he said.

Police have booked him for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other charges.

After the accident, the prime accused, his family members, who stay in Mumbai's Borivali area, and his grandfather, who resides in Palghar, left their respective homes and remained untraceable.