Mumbai hit-and-run case: Police form 11 teams to nab 24-year-old

The BMW car that crashed into the victim`s bike. Pic/Ashish Raje

Mumbai police have reportedly formed eleven teams to nab the 24-year-old son of Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader who allegedly crashed a BMW car into a scooter while driving, killing a woman and injuring her husband, an official said.

A Look Out Circular (LOC) has also been put out against Mihir Shah, son of Rajesh Shah, the official told PTI.

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A Mumbai court reportedly remanded Rajesh Shah in 14-day judicial custody on Monday. However, he was later granted bail. According to the PTI report, his driver, also an accused in the case, was sent to police custody until Tuesday.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said, "No one, whether rich, influential, or the offspring of bureaucrats or ministers, affiliated with any party, will have immunity as long as I am the chief minister."

Mihir Shah was allegedly driving the BMW car that fatally knocked down Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and injured her husband Pradeep while the couple was on their two-wheeler in Mumbai's Worli area Sunday morning, police said.

As per the PTI report, the car dragged the woman for more than 2 km, the official said. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead on arrival.

Rajesh Shah, who owns the car, and Rajrishri Bidawat, the driver, who was sitting next to Mihir, were arrested on Sunday for allegedly helping Mihir escape after the accident, the official told PTI.

According to the police official, "As there is a possibility of Mihir Shah fleeing the country, police have issued an LOC against him."

According to the news agency report, police suspect that Mihir was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, as he was spotted at a bar in the Juhu area here a few hours before the incident, the official said.

As per the PTI report, the police have also recovered the bar bill of Rs 18,000 and are verifying it, the official said without elaborating.

The CCTV footage of the bar is also being examined, he said.

The accused in the Mumbai hit-and-run case have been reportedly booked under various sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), according to the police.

CM Shinde has issued a statement in which he has asked police to handle hit-and-run incidents involving powerful and influential people with seriousness and ensure justice is served.

Shinde added, "It is intolerable that the powerful and influential misuse their status to manipulate the system. Such miscarriages of justice will not be tolerated by my government."

"The lives of ordinary citizens are precious to us. I have directed the state police department to handle these cases with the utmost seriousness and ensure justice is served. We are implementing stricter laws with harsher penalties for hit-and-run offenders," Shinde said.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who represents the Worli assembly constituency, said in a post on X on Sunday, "I will not go into the political leanings of Shah, the accused of the hit and run, but I hope the police will act swiftly to catch the accused and bring him to justice. Hopefully there will be no political refuge for the regime."

(With inputs from PTI)