Mihir Shah, the 24-year-old son of a Shiv Sena leader and main accused in the Worli hit-and-run case, is missing a day after the accident left a 45-year-old woman dead. Six police teams are looking for him after the investigation revealed that he was at the wheel of the speeding BMW that crashed into a scooter. The crash left Kaveri Nakhawa dead and her husband Pradeep injured.
Rajesh Shah, Mihir’s father and deputy leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Sena in Maharashtra’s Palghar district, and his driver Rajrushi Bidavat will be produced in court today. The two were arrested last evening in connection with the crash that took place early yesterday. Rajesh Shah was arrested after he did not cooperate with the cops in their investigation, it is learnt.
A lookout circular has been issued against Mihir Shah. When police reached his home, they found it locked. The whereabouts of his mother and sister are not known.
According to the investigation so far, Mihir Shah drank at a bar in Juhu late Saturday night and his driver picked up in the high-end BMW car. At Worli, he insisted that he would drive and took the wheel. The Nakhawas, Koliwada residents who sold fish for a living, were on their way back from Sassoon Dock when the BMW crashed into their scooter. Kaveri Nakhawa was run over and dragged by the BMW as it fled the scene. She was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Mihir Shah, it is learnt, had called his father and told him about the accident. His phone has been off since then.
A case has been registered under the new criminal code Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita under sections relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving and destruction of evidence, among others. Provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act have also been invoked.
Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena Leader Eknath Shinde has termed the incident “unfortunate” and assured strict action. “Law will take its own course, everyone is equal before law,” he has said.
The victim’s husband, Pradeep, broke down before the media yesterday. “I have two children, what will I do now? These are big people, nobody will do anything, we will suffer,” he said.
Aaditya Thackeray of Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction — the rival bloc of the Shinde faction — rushed to the Worli police station yesterday and spoke to the cops. “I will not go into the political leanings of Shah, the accused of the hit-and-run, but I hope the police will act swiftly to catch the accused and bring him to justice. Hopefully, there will be no political refuge by the regime.”
Mr Thackeray also said he met the victim’s husband. “We promised him that we would do everything to bring the accused to justice.”
The Worli hit-and-run comes months after and has striking similarities with the Porsche hit-and-run in Pune that left two 24-year-old engineers dead in February. The minor accused in the Pune crash was speeding a Porsche car after a round of drinking. The teen’s father, a prominent realtor, his mother and his grandfather were arrested in the wake of the accident for allegedly attempting to destroy evidence.
