Mihir Shah – the main accused in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case – has been arrested, police sources told NDTV Tuesday evening. Shah’s mother and two sisters have also been taken into custody.
Police believe the mother and sisters helped Shah – the son of politician Rajesh Shah, a member of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction – evade arrest for over 72 hours.
The cops must now decide if the three women will be made an accused in the case.
Mihir Shah was allegedly driving the BMW – after spending Rs 18,730 at a Juhu bar, where he partied for hours with four friends – when it rammed into the two-wheeler at 5.30 am on Sunday.
Shortly before Shah was arrested the bar – the Vice – Global Tapas Bar – was sealed.
READ | Bar Where Sena Leader’s Son Was Drinking Before Crash Sealed
The woman has been identified as Kaveri Nakhwa, 45. She was with her husband, Pradip, who was fortunate to escape with injuries. The two were reportedly shopping for fish to cook for a family meal.
The police had formed multiple teams to catch Mihir Shah, who was eventually tracked down to an apartment in Virar, which is around 65 km from Mumbai. He is being taken to the Worli Police Station.
Mihir Shah
Hours earlier police sources told NDTV they believed Shah, his mother, and his sister had gone underground together after the accident, and that the latter two may have helped him hide.
READ | 72 Hours After BMW Crash, Cops Think Mihir Shah, Family Hiding Out
Sources have said a few others have been arrested with Mihir Shah, but it is unclear how many and if these include the mother and sister. Shah’s father – arrested late Sunday morning – got bail within hours.
READ | In Worli Hit-And-Run, Phone Calls Made To Accused By Father
A city court gave Rajesh Shah bail on payment of a Rs 15,000 bond.
The only accused still in jail is Rajrishi Bidawat – the driver allegedly forced to give control of the BMW to Mihir Shah. He may have been told to pretend he was driving when the accident happened.
Bidawat has been sent to police custody till Thursday.
Worli BMW Crash: What Happened?
Police sources have revealed a rough sequence of events to NDTV.
According to the cops, on Sunday Mihir Shah left home for a party at the Vice – Global Tapas Bar in Juhu. At that time he was driving a Mercedes registered to his father. Four friends accompanied him.
The five partied at the bar till 11 pm; NDTV has seen a copy of the Rs 18,730 bill.
READ | Hours Before BMW Crash, Sena Leader’s Son Was At A Bar, Bill Emerges
At 1.15 am (on Monday) Mihir Shah drove his friends – in the Mercedes – back home.
READ | CCTV Footage Shows Sena Leader’s Son In Mercedes Before BMW Crash
At 4 am he told Bidawat to take him for a ‘joy ride’ on Marine Drive in the BMW.
At 5 am, after driving up and down Marine Drive, the car was turned home.
Police believe the car reached Kalanagar when Shah swapped seats with Bidawat.
If true, this means Shah was driving the car when it hit the bike at 5.30 am.
The woman who was killed has been identified as Kaveri Nakhwa, 45. She was travelling with her husband, Pradip, and the two were reportedly shopping for fish to cook.
Woman Dragged For 1.5 Kilometres
Horrific details have emerged of the crash, including CCTV footage that indicates Ms Nakhwa was dragged for 1.5 km after the collision before the BMW was stopped.
The police said the footage also indicated Shah then exchanged seats with Bidawat, pulled the woman’s body out from under the car, and left it on the road. The car was then driven away.
READ | In Mumbai BMW Case, Woman Dragged For 1.5 Km, Run Over Twice
But, in an even more horrific turn of events, the driver reportedly reversed the car to run over her body one more time before speeding off and out of the CCTV’s field of vision, the police said.
Bidawat was, therefore, “aware of his actions and helped the other accused”, the police told a court that questioned the culpable homicide charge against the driver.
“No One Will Have Immunity”: Chief Minister
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde expressed alarm at the “rise in hit-and-run incidents in Maharashtra.” He said that the powerful and influential attempt to misuse their status to manipulate the system and such abuse of power will not be tolerated by his government
He also said the guilty will not be spared.
“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 of the State. I have zero tolerance for injustice,” Shinde said in a post on X.
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