Kandivli BMW hit-and-run case: Officer changed, probe speeded up

A series of reports in midday providing vital leads in the hitandrun death involving a BMW car and the sluggish investigation have prompted Mumbai police chief Vivek Phansalkar to order a highlevel probe Somnath Gharge the zonal DCP will now supervise the case that has been registered with the Samta Nagar police The investigating officer who made no headway even after a month has been changed while cops have issued a lookout circular against the 23yrold suspectThe police said the young driver whose parents live in Dubai is a Mira Road resident and a student of a Bandra college He allegedly has a history of rash drivingIn the early hours of August 29 Thane resident Harry Bastian was hit by a BMW car on a flyover on the Western Express Highway in Kandivli He was flung off the bridge on the road below where he died The same day a BMW car was brought to a garage in Andheri to fix its damaged fenderThe police said the suspect hasnrsquot returned to his home ever since midday published the photographs of the BMW car with the damage on its front left sideAlso read Mumbai BMW hitandrun suspect might escape to DubaildquoAll arrangements have been made so that he may not escape the country We will arrest him soonrdquo said Additional CP North Virendra Mishra Narendra Shinde the senior inspector at Samata Nagar police station said the suspect is still in IndiaOn middayrsquos investigative reports that have revitalised the case DCP Gharge said ldquoI must appreciate your work as the carrsquos number plate is not legible in the CCTV camera footage But your legwork would be helpful in our proberdquoGharge said the case file has been taken away from Assistant Inspector Vinod Chimada and handed over to the new investigating officer IOmdashinspector Ganesh PawarldquoWe are following all the possible steps to track down the BMW driver who is on the run We have kept his mobile number on surveillance and his social media accounts are being tracked by the investigating teamrdquo the DCP saidThe police are also planning to record the statement of the Andheri garage owner who had approached the MIDC police after reading a report in midday on Monday but the cops didnrsquot entertain himVictim Harry Bastian with his wife Jyoti who is now the only breadwinner of the familyldquoSamata Nagar police were not approached by anyone and by the time the investigating officer learnt about the BMW car the suspect had already removed the vehicle from there So we will also record the statement of the garage ownerrdquo said DCP Gharge ldquoOur first and topmost priority is to track down the suspect who is on the runrdquo he assured adding ldquoI would also request you to support us to track himrdquoSources said the cops will scan the footage of multiple CCTV cameras installed on the stretch of WEH where the accident took place Up until now the police had been citing hazy visuals from one CCTV camera to justify their inability to crack the caseHours after the death of 32yearold Bastian a BMW car owner took his vehicle with a damaged fender to an Andheri garage It remained there for nearly a month over a pending bill of R15 lakhWhen midday spoke to him last the suspect had denied his involvement in any hitandrun ldquoMy car got damaged in Borivli in the first week of August and I visited the garage in the second week of last monthrdquo he had said But he cleared his pending bill and removed the car from the garage after learning that midday had contacted the garage owner to get the pictures of his car No info from police FamilyHarryrsquos wife Jyoti Bastian said ldquoI am learning about the development from you as no one from the police station informed me that the IO has been changed Everything was given to the police on a platter by midday yet the previous IO did nothing to arrest him All I hope is that the killer of my husband is arrested soonrdquoldquoIt has been a month but the accused is still roaming free We are thankful to midday for highlighting our plights as the case file was gathering dust for the last monthrdquo Jyoti saidBastianrsquos cousin Clement Dass said ldquoThe accused is very active on social media He has been frequently changing his profile pictures on Instagram which he has now made lsquoprivatersquordquoAug 29Day when the accident took place and the BMW car was brought to the garage