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Mihir Shah, the main accused in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case, being taken by the police, in Mumbai. (Image: PTI)
The police recreated the crime scene in the Worli area by bringing prime accused Mihir Shah and the family chauffeur Rajrishi Bidawat, who is also an accused in the case, to the spot
The prime accused in the Mumbai hit-and-run case, Mihir Shah, told police that he has made a “big mistake” and his “career is over” while he was being interrogated. The Mumbai Police, however, is not banking on the statements of the accused, sources said.
Mihir told police during his “confession”: “I have made a big mistake, my career is over.”
Late on Wednesday (July 10), the police recreated the crime scene in the Worli area, where Mihir allegedly crashed into a couple’s scooter, dragging a 45-year-old woman from his BMW car that led to her death. He and the family chauffeur Rajrishi Bidawat, who is also an accused in the case, were taken to the spot. Police, however, said they do not trust their statements and are verifying them.
In the course of its investigation into the case, the Mumbai Police has found that the main accused drank alcohol twice before the accident and forced Bidawat off the driver’s seat and started driving the BMW himself. According to police, after exiting a bar in Juhu — where the 24-year-old and his two friends reportedly had 12 large pegs of whiskey — Mihir consumed alcohol once again between Borivali and Malad. He forced Bidawat off the driver’s seat and started driving the car himself, police said.
The son of a Shiv Sena politician, Mihir earlier told the police that he was driving the car at the time of the accident, which killed Kaveri Nakhwa and left her husband injured. The police have booked him for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other charges.
Mihir, who was sent to police custody till July 16, claimed that he has a driving licence, but the police are yet to recover the document. Officials said the statements of 14 people, including his mother, sisters and friends, have been recorded so far.
An official said after crashing into the couple’s scooter, the accused was quite aware that the woman was stuck in one of the tyres of the car. But, still he drove recklessly and did not stop though motorists passing by signalled and shouted at him to stop, the official said.
The horrific accident was captured in CCTV cameras installed at Mela Junction and Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk in Worli. After crossing the chowk, other motorists asked Mihir to stop the car, but he did not listen to them and continued driving, the official added.
After the accident, he and his family members, who stay in suburban Borivali, along with his grandfather, who resides in Palghar, left their homes and remained untraceable. To conceal his identity, he shaved his beard and trimmed his hair but was arrested from Thane district on July 9, two days after the accident.
His father Rajesh Shah, a Shiv Sena leader from adjoining Palghar district, is also an accused in the case and out on bail at present.
(With PTI inputs)