Vasai biker crash: 9 days after deadly accident, no FIR yet

A speeding car sent a motorcyclist flying 10 feet into the air after a headon collision in Vasai last week but the cops are yet to register an FIR for the accident Meanwhile the number plates of the carmdashwhich were intact and legible soon after the accidentmdashhave now gone missing The Vasai Gaon police station sprung into action only minutes after midday published an online update on Friday going through the medical files of the victim and requesting his father to approach the police station The cops also called in the car driver Abin Anthony an interior designer who is a native of Chulna village VasaiThe horrifying accident took place around 10 pm on February 15 The distressing footage showed Aniket Coutinho 29 flipping three full circles and up to 10 feet high in the air before crashing onto the road where he rotated 360deg before lying motionless ldquoIt was a horrible sightrdquo recalled an eyewitness while speaking to middayThe car had a full number plate in this picture taken soon after the accident PicHanef PatelThe accident spot is a dimly lit area where the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation VVCMC has not installed street lamps said Aniketrsquos relative Godson Dias ldquoAbove all the roads have been encroached upon by the shopkeepers making them even narrower and difficult for users to pass byrdquo Dias told middayAccording to Dias most cars and bikes use Chinese headlamps which often blind road users because of their brightness ldquoBoth the car driver as well as Aniketrsquos bike had the same Chinese headlamps which might have caused them to lose control resulting in the accidentrdquo he saidThe bike Aniket Coutinho was riding PicHanif PatelDias also raised questions as to how the number plates of the car which were intact after the accident had got damaged and were now partially missing ldquoWho damaged it Are cops trying to protect the car driverrdquo Dias wonderedSenior Police Inspector Ranjeet Andhale from Vasai Gaon police station said ldquoIt is not yet clear who was at fault Thatrsquos why we did not register an FIR But the accident was reported at the police station after Aniketrsquos father submitted a complaint He seems to be speeding and had overtaken two vehicles before colliding headon with the carrdquoAniket Coutinho right Xray showing fractured boneldquoAfter middayrsquos online story we called Aniketrsquos father And we are taking legal opinions to ascertain who was at faultrdquo Andhale told middayAniket who runs a small garage in Vasai has been battling for life with multiple fractures at a private hospital in Mira Road ldquoThere were three occupants including a woman in the carrdquo said a policemanDias said ldquoAniket was returning home from his gym when the accident took place His friend identified him lying motionless on the road and informed us We rushed to the spot The impact of the accident was so severe that the carrsquos airbag got inflatedrdquoAniket in hospital in an unconscious state PicsHanif PatelldquoAniket was rushed to D M Petit hospital and later rushed to a private hospital in Mira Road where he is recuperatingrdquo added Dias who suspected that the car driver might have been intoxicated ldquoI had doubts so I took him to the same hospital where his blood samples were collected and sent to the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory Kalina I am not sure if the report is out But it is wrong to say that the motorcycle was at fault because the roads are narrowhellip there are no street lamps and no divider and all these things confuse road usersrdquoMeanwhile a local resident Ram Iyer said ldquoI wonder why the VVCMC does not care about the road conditions The Bangli Road where the accident took place has no street lights Road users have to largely depend on their headlamps or light coming from shops along the road Moreover cattle often run across the road and at times we have to stop in the middle to let them pass I had a narrow escape a few weeks ago as a speeding fourwheeler rammed my car from the rear when I had stopped to let cattle pass The situation is alarming as civic authorities are doing nothing to change itrdquoAniketrsquos sister told midday that his legs and shoulder had been badly damaged ldquoHe has got multiple fractures on his legs and shoulder He is still unconsciousrdquo she said Meanwhile friends and relatives of the cashstrapped Coutinho family have been crowdfunding to meet the costs of his expensive treatment10 feetHeight Aniket was hurled up to before crashing onto road