In a new development, Mihir Shah, the absconding accused in the BMW hit and run case and son of a Shiv Sena politician, was arrested by Mumbai Police on Tuesday, three days after he allegedly rammed his car into a two-wheeler, killing a woman and injuring her husband.
24-year-old Mihir Shah managed to evade the police since Sunday morning and was later arrested by Mumbai Police on Wednesday. However, Mir Shah’s mother and his two sisters were brought to Mumbai for questioning from Shahapur in Thane district. They are being quizzed along with 10 others, news agency PTI quoted an official as saying.
The Incident
The BMW car of Mihir Shah allegedly rammed into a two-wheeler of 45-year-old Kaveri Nakhwa, who was riding a pillion and his husband Pradeep Nakhwa survived with injuries. The accident happened in the Worli area of south-central Mumbai on the morning of July 7.
Mihir Shah rammed the vehicle of Kaveri Nakhwa, dragging her for around 1.5 km by a speeding BMW car, after that, he swapped the seat with his driver, Rajrshi Bidawat, and fled in another vehicle, as reported by the Mumbai Police.
According to the police, Mihir Shah left the scene in an autorickshaw, leaving his BMW and driver behind in the Kala Nagar area. Following this, he went to his friend’s home in Goregaon. His friend called Mihir Shah’s sister, who later came to Goregoan and took both of them to her home in Borivali, as reported by PTI.
On learning about the incident, the Shah family decided to flee to a resort in Shahpur, Thane district, by travelling in an Audi car. Mihir Shah’s mother Meena, sisters Kinjal and Pooja, and his two friends also stayed at the resort.
After becoming cognizant of the identity of one of Mihi Shah’s friends accompanying him, the Mumbai Police tracked his number, but his friend too had switched off his cell phone, the official said. Late on July 8 evening, Mihir Shah and his friend left the Shahapur resort and reached Virar.
How was Mihir Shah arrested?
His friend turned on the cell phone for 15 minutes, and immediately the Mumbai Police tracked the location and later intercepted them.
Regarding Mihir’s movements prior to the accident, an official told PTI that after partying with friends at a bar in the Juhu area, he left with his driver for South Mumbai in the early hours.
After the accident, he managed to evade the police and reach his friend’s house, where he, along with Mihir Shah and his family, fled and reached Virar. Mihir Shah and his friend later switched off their mobile phones. His friend switched it on for 15 minutes, and the Mumbai Police tracked the location. The absconding Shah was finally arrested on Sunday morning in Virar, near Mumbai.
Political Reaction:
“The family is demanding justice. If you look into it, this is not a case of hit-and-run but murder, because after hitting the couple, if he had stopped the car, then this would not have happened. Instead, he drove the vehicle,” said Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad.
“Whether there’s alcohol in his (Mihir Shah) system or not, this will be known after 48 hours. But even if he had not consumed alcohol, police have technical evidence of the crime, and they can prove the crime,” added MNS leader Sandeep.
NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad said: “After 60 hours (of the incident), what will they (police) find in blood? Will they find traces of alcohol or drugs? In these 60 hours, he must have sent his blood for testing every two hours, and when the lab cleared him, what will the police do when his reports are all clear?”
Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray has claimed that the Worli hit-and-run case is a murder, as the accused dragged the deceased to a dairy and then hit her again by reversing the car.
“Will you get what you need in the blood if you take a blood sample after 7 hours? My demand is that you don’t go by the blood sample, and all for now, what can be seen on CCTV, what the driver has said, what the victim has said, it’s a murder and it should be dealt with like that only. Hit-and-run is another thing, but they have dragged (the deceased) till dairy and again hit by reversing (the car), and hence it’s a murder,” Mr. Thackeray said on July 9.
