The prime accused in the Mumbai hit-and-run, Mihir Shah, and his two friends consumed 12 large pegs of whiskey on the day he dragged a woman from his BMW after crashing into her scooter in Worli area. The son of a Shiv Sena politician, he has already told the police he was driving the car at the time of the accident that killed 45-year-old Kaveri Nakhwa and injured her husband.
According to a report published by Times of India, excise officials alleged that Mihir and his two friends drank 12 large pegs of whiskey — four large pegs each — at the bar they visited before the incident. They said the bill generated shows that the 24-year-old and his friends had 12 pegs, which can keep a person intoxicated for eight hours.
Excise sources said the mishap took place within four hours (at 5 am) after Mihir and his friends left the bar at 1.30 am on July 7. The state excise department has suspended the licence of the bar in Juhu — named as Vice-Global Tapas Bar — that served hard liquor to Mihir, who is not yet 25 years, which is the legal age for drinking. There were other irregularities with the bar that is listed as Don Giovanni Restaurant, Jobel Hospitalities Pvt Ltd, including selling liquor to non-drinking permit holders in non-permitted areas, officials alleged.
After the Porsche crash in Pune, in which two software engineers in their early 20s were killed, at least 60 bars across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) were closed for five to 10 days for operating beyond closure timings, offering liquor to underage patrons, and for not issuing a day’s drinking permit to patrons.
The case so far
After admitting that he was at the wheel when the accident took place, Mihir, who is in police custody till July 16, has claimed he possesses a driving licence but the police are yet to recover the document.
Officials said the statements of 14 people, including Mihir’s mother, sisters and friends, have been recorded so far. The police are likely to visit the crash spot in Worli and reconstruct the entire crime scene as part of their investigation, they said.
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. Mihir was arrested on July 9 from Thane district, two days after the accident.
An official said after crashing into the couple’s scooter, Mihir 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 frantically signalled and shouted, asking him to halt.
The horrific accident was captured in CCTV cameras installed at Mela Junction and Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk in Worli. After crossing Bindu Madhav Thackeray Chowk, other motorists asked Mihir to stop the car, but he did not listen to them and continued driving, the official said.
After the accident, Mihir, his family members, who stay in suburban Borivali, and his grandfather, who resides in Palghar, left their respective homes and remained untraceable. To conceal his identity, he shaved his beard and trimmed his hair.
The police have booked Mihir for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, among other charges. They will bring him and Rajrishi Bidawat — the family chauffeur who is also an accused in the case — face to face to get more information about the crash and to know the entire sequence of events, the official added.
(With PTI inputs)
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