BMW hit-and-run case: Had he shown humanity, my wife would have been alive, says deceased woman’s husband

“We were shouting ‘Stop! Stop!’ to the person driving the vehicle. But he sped away with Kaveri on the bonnet. He dragged my wife on the bonnet from Ceejay House to Sea Link. I saw him; he was a young, skinny man with a beard and dense hair,” Pradeep added.

Pradeep took a taxi looking for his wife, but as he didn’t find her anywhere he took the taxi to the Worli police station. There he found out that the police had taken her to the Nair hospital from the near sea link entry point (from Worli side).

“My wife will never come back, but he should get the strictest punishment,” said the aggrieved husband.

According to Pradeep, Kaveri was the backbone of their family. The couple’s son Yash recently got a job and they were planning a holiday, he said. They also have a daughter. The family, from the fishermen community, has been living in Nakhwa House, in Shankar temple area of Worli Koliwada for years.

“Kaveri loved our son so much. He came home from work in the morning. I didn’t know how to tell him about his mother’s death. The culprit should get harsh punishment,” Pradeep said.

Father, driver to be produced in court

After day-long questioning, the Worli police arrested Mihir’s father Rajesh Shah, a Borivali resident, and their driver Rajrishi Bidawat. It is suspected that Mihir called his father Rajesh Shah and informed him about the crash and the father allegedly helped him escape. Hence, his father was placed under arrest after his role was established.

The Shah family’s driver/caretaker Rajrishi Bidawat was also arrested for not informing police about the accident. He witnessed the entire incident, another officer said. The two arrested accused will be produced in Bhoiwada court on Monday. The investigation also indicated multiple attempts to destroy evidence, police said.

The car’s rear number plate was removed and the front plate was distorted. Additionally, the car’s windshield had a Shiv Sena sticker, which had been scratched to conceal the vehicle’s link with the Sena leader. One of Mihir’s pictures on social media from earlier shows the sticker.

“We have scanned the CCTV footage of the area and, based on our information network, traced the vehicle,” an officer said. Police have called in RTO and forensic lab officials to inspect the car.

Six teams formed to look for Mihir

According to police sources, after mowing down the woman in Worli, Mihir abandoned his car in Bandra before fleeing in an autorickshaw.

Unconfirmed reports suggest he went straight to his friend’s place in Goregaon. After an hour, he left her place to go to Bandra to another friend’s place. Police have inquired about Mihir’s whereabouts.

“Six police teams are looking for Mihir,” a senior police officer said. “His phone has been switched off since then. Police are inquiring about Mihir’s whereabouts by investigating the people he called after the accident. Police are also inquiring about his friends with whom he partied the previous night,” another officer said.