BMW hit-and-run case: Mumbai court jails driver for 14 days

Mumbai, Jul 11 (PTI) A Mumbai court on Thursday sent Shiv Sena politician Rajesh Shah's family chauffeur, an accused in the fatal BMW hit-and-run case, to 14-day judicial custody.

Police told the court that Rajesh Shah’s son and prime accused Mihir Shah had picked up four beer cans from a bar in suburban Malad hours before the accident and they needed the driver’s custody to recover the cans.

The driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, was sitting in the car with Mihir Shah at the time of the fatal crash on Sunday, according to the police.

Mihir Shah (24) was allegedly behind the wheel when his BMW car rammed into a scooter in Mumbai's Worli area, killing a woman, who was riding pillion, and leaving her husband injured.

According to police, after the crash, Bidawat swapped driver’s seat with Mihir Shah allegedly at the instruction of Rajesh Shah, a politician from the adjoining Palghar district.

The driver was produced before Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Sewree court) S P Bhosale at the end of his police remand on Thursday.

Prima facie, police told the court, the role of the accused is made out in the case.

During the remand hearing of Bidawat, police told the court that both accused had confessed to their involvement in the crime during custodial interrogation.

Mihir Shah and Bidawat were questioned separately and again face-to-face. They confessed to committing the crime, police said.

The court was told that the police took Bidawat and Mihir Shah to the accident spot for further probe. It has also come to light that Mihir Shah had driven the car by himself from Girgaon to the entry point of the sea link at Worli, where the incident took place, police said.

Public prosecutors Ravindra Patil and Bharti Bhosle sought further extension of the driver’s custody, saying the investigation in the high-profile case was still in progress.

Further, the BMW car’s registration number plate was yet to be recovered, they said.

Defence advocates Ayush Pasbola and Sudhir Bhardwaj opposed the plea for remand extension, arguing that the investigation in the case was over and hence Bidawat’s custody was not required.

Since the first remand, the police have been saying that they need to recover the car’s number plate and they cannot seek an extension in custody on the same ground, the defence submitted.

On the recovery of the beer cans, Pasbola said police had already recorded the statements of the relevant person and the driver’s custody was not required for it.

After hearing both sides, the court remanded Bidawat in 14-day judicial custody.

The deceased woman, Kaveri Nakhwa, was going with her husband Pradip on the arterial Annie Besant Road in Worli when the luxury car's driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into the couple's two-wheeler at around 5.30 am.

According to the police, the woman was dragged for 1.5 km before Mihir Shah stopped the car.

The accused persons have been booked under various sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Mihir Shah, who was arrested from Virar near Mumbai on Tuesday after being on the run for more than two days, is currently in police custody till July 16.

His father and Sena leader Rajesh Shah, accused of helping him escape after the accident, is currently out on bail. PTI