Mumbai/New Delhi:

Mihir Shah, the main accused in the Mumbai’s BMW hit-and-run that claimed the life of a 45-year-old woman, has admitted that he is a habitual drinker, police sources have said.

Mihir Shah, 24, made the confession during the police interrogation following his arrest, they said.

Investigation also reveals that Mihir Shah shaved his beard and cut his hair at a barber shop in Virar to mislead the police.

The police have also recorded the statement of the barber who had cut Mihir’s hair, officials said.

The police had formed multiple teams to catch the politician’s son, who was tracked down to an apartment in Virar, which is approximately 65 km from Mumbai

The 24-year-old is the son of politician Rajesh Shah, a member of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction. A dozen people are in custody, including Mr Shah’s parents and two sisters.

Mihir Shah evaded the police for three days until he was tracked down to an apartment in Virar, which is around 65 km from Mumbai. The police traced him when one of his friends turned on his phone for 15 minutes.

On July 6, Mihir Shah was allegedly driving the BMW, after partying at a Juhu bar with friends for hours. He allegedly hit a couple on their two-wheeler at 5.30 am on Sunday.

The woman killed in the crash was Kaveri Nakhwa, a 45-year-old mother of two. She was with her husband Pradip Nakhwa, who suffered injuries. The two were out shopping for fish.

CCTV footage indicates Ms Nakhwa was dragged for 1.5 km after the collision before the BMW was stopped. The police said the footage also showed that Mr Shah then again switched seats with Mr Bidawat, pulled the woman’s body out from under the car, and left it on the road before driving away.

Mumbai/New Delhi:

The license of a Mumbai bar – from where BMW hit-and-run accused Mihir Shah bought four bottles of beer before hitting a couple on their bike last Sunday – has been temporarily suspended over alleged violations, officials have said.

Police sources said Mihir Shah was “heavily drunk… and on a joyride” at the time of the horrific collision that left the woman on the bike dead.

Mihir and his driver had bought beer from the Sai Prasad Bar in Malad and drank it inside the car after leaving a Juhu bar where he had alcohol with his friends.

Police sources said the license of the bar has been suspended because they sold beer to the accused after the deadline. When the officials raided the bar, they also found the security camera footage deleted.

Before heading to the Malad bar for the second round of drinks, Mihir Shah and his three friends drank a dozen 60ml glasses of whiskey at the Vice-Global Tapas Bar in Juhu.

They left the bar – parts of which were demolished for serving liquor to 24-year-old Shah, who is below the legal drinking age – at 11 pm last Saturday. The bar has claimed Shah showed them a false ID that said he was 27 years old.

Mihir Shah is the son of politician Rajesh Shah, a member of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction.

The 24-year-old was allegedly driving the BMW car which rammed Kaveri Nakhwa (45) and injured her husband Pradeep while the couple was on their two-wheeler in Mumbai’s Worli area, police said. Rajrishi Bidawat, his driver, was the other occupant in the luxury car.

CCTV footage indicates Ms Nakhwa was dragged for 1.5 km after the collision before the BMW was stopped. The police said the footage also showed that Mr Shah then again switched seats with Mr Bidawat, pulled the woman’s body out from under the car, and left it on the road before driving away.

Mumbai/New Delhi:

Mihir Shah – the main accused in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case – has admitted that he was driving the luxury vehicle when the accident took place, but claimed he wasn’t drunk, police sources have said.

Mihir Shah – during the police interrogation – told the officials that he had exchanged the seats with his driver Rajrishi Bidawat before it rammed into a two-wheeler at 5.30 am on Sunday.

The 24-year-old- the son of politician Rajesh Shah, a member of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction – was arrested last evening. A total of 12 people, including Mr Shah’s mother and two sisters, were taken into custody.

The woman who was killed in the crash has been identified as Kaveri Nakhwa, 45. She was with her husband, Pradip, who escaped 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.

Mihir Shah was allegedly driving the BMW – after spending Rs 18,730 at a Juhu bar, where he partied for hours with four friends.

CCTV footage indicates Ms Nakhwa was dragged for 1.5 km after the collision before the BMW was stopped. The police said the footage also showed that Mr Shah then again switched seats with Mr Bidawat, pulled the woman’s body out from under the car, and left it on the road. The car was then driven away.

The Mumbai accident has parallels to the Pune Porsche hit-and-run case when two software engineers riding a two-wheeler were killed.