Mihir Shah, the main accused in the BMW hit-and-run case and son of a Shiv Sena politician, has been sent to judicial custody for 14 days.

A woman, Kaveri Nakhwa (45), was killed and her husband Pradip injured after their two-wheeler was hit from the rear by the BMW allegedly driven by Mr Shah at 5:30 am on July 7 in Worli’s arterial Anni Besant Road. Mr Shah evaded the police for three days until he was tracked down to an apartment in Virar, around 65 km from Mumbai. The police traced him when one of his friends turned on his phone for 15 minutes. The mobile phone location of a friend of Mihir Shah led the police to him.

On July 10, Mr Shah was sent to seven-day police custody. “He has not given any information about whom did he meet, where all did he go after the crime. He threw away the number plate. There’s no information on why he cut his hair,” the police told a court as Mr Shah’s custody ended today.

The public prosecutor had sought an extension of the police custody to find out “who all harboured him (when he went missing after the accident), he hasn’t talked about it”.

The 24-year-old shaved his beard and cut his hair to evade arrest, the police earlier told the court. 

“The investigation is still on. We need to know who gave him the car and shelter after the accident. For that we need an extension of the police custody,” they said.

Mr Shah had fled the scene after allegedly running over the woman with his luxury car. The police had been searching for Mr Shah and his family members (who also went missing after the car number) using their car numbers. The phone number of Mihir’s friend was also under surveillance.

The defence side requested the court to send Mihir Shah to judicial custody as in the “seven days, the police recorded the statements of the family and the driver and their statements align.”

“In the remand report, it is stated that they have recovered clothes, recorded 27 statements and found the beer can,” said the defence lawyer.

During the police interrogation following his arrest, Mr Shah allegedly admitted that he was a habitual drinker. Yesterday, the license of a Mumbai bar from where the hit-and-run main accused  Shah bought four bottles of beer before hitting the couple was temporarily suspended over alleged violations.

“We are hearing that they want to see the number plate – what will it show? They stated that the number plate from the front plate is missing – they have the number of the vehicle,” he added.

The police stressed that the “number plate was an important evidence and we need to recollect”. “We have still not found out the reason for the change in appearance,” the public prosecutor told the court.

Mumbai:

Amid a search for the son of a Shiv Sena leader over a fatal BMW crash in Mumbai yesterday, CCTV footage showing the key accused has gone viral.

The video shows Mihir Shah leaving a pub in a Mercedes car with four of his friends. The cops said he changed the car later and was driving the BMW while his driver was in the passenger seat.

The speeding BMW hit a scooter in Worli early Sunday morning, killing a woman who was riding pillion with her husband, police said. Mihir was allegedly drunk at that time.

His father, Rajesh Shah – a leader of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s party in Palghar, and the BMW’s driver Rajrishi Bidawat were arrested last evening for not cooperating with the cops. The BMW was registered in Rajesh Shah’s name.

Mihir remains elusive with cops suspecting that his girlfriend may have helped hide him. They are questioning her too while a lookout notice has been issued for him.

The victim was identified as Kaveri Nakhwa, 45, who was travelling to Worli Koliwada from Mazagaon Docks with her husband, Pradip, when their scooter met with the accident.

The two were thrown in the air and crashed on the bonnet of the car. While Pradip managed to jump off the bonnet, the car dragged his wife about 100 metres in an attempt to escape. She was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead.

Mihir and the driver fled the scene and abandoned the car at Kala Nagar, Bandra East before parting ways in separate autos, police said. The driver who went to Borivali was arrested in the evening while four police teams are still looking for Mihir.

According to police sources, the accused drank at a bar in Juhu the night before the crash and went for a long drive after that. As they reached Worli, Mihir insisted on driving and the accident occurred soon after he took the wheels.

Cops have filed a case under the new criminal code, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash driving, and destruction of evidence, and also invoked provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has assured action and said everyone is equal before the law.

The incident comes months after a similar hit-and-run case involving a Porsche car and the minor son of an influential realtor left two young engineers dead in Pune. The boy was found drunk at the time of the incident. His parents and grandfather were arrested for allegedly trying to destroy evidence.

Mumbai:

It was just another Sunday morning for Kaveri Nakhava and her husband Pradeep Nakhava. The couple, who lived in Worli’s Koliwada and sold fish for a living, set out on their scooter and reached Sassoon Dock to buy fish they could sell later. They were on their back when a speeding BMW crashed into the two-wheeler, throwing Pradik and Kaveri into the air. Pradeep fell on the ground, but Kaveri was dragged by the car. She was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.

Police say Mihir Shah, the 24-year-son of Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah, was at the wheel. They also suspect that the accused was drunk, but his blood test report is awaited.

Rajesh Shah, the deputy leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and his driver, Rajendra Singh Bijawat, have been taken in police custody and are being question. Mihir Shah is on the run and four police teams are looking for him.

Pradeep, who has suffered minor injuries, has been at the police station since the morning. He broke down while speaking to the media. “The accident happened at 5.30 am, the car came from behind and rammed into the scooter. I fell on the left side, but my wife was dragged through the road,” he said. “I have two children, what will I do? These are big people, nobody will do anything, we will suffer.”

Police have registered a case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 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.

The vehicle, police say, is registered in Mihir Shah’s name. At the time of the accident, Mihir Shah and their driver were in the car. According to police sources, Mihir Shah drank at a bar in Juhu last night. On his way home, he asked the driver to take him a long drive. The car came to Worli and then Mihir insisted that he would drive. Soon after he took the wheel, the speeding BMW hit the scooter on which the couple were returning home.

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena Leader Eknath Shinde has termed the incident “unfortunate” and assured action. “Law will take its own course, everyone is equal before law. I have spoken to the police and strict action will be taken,” he said.

The incident has brought back grim memories of the Pune hit-and-run horror in which two 24-year-old engineers lost their lives. 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 aftermath of the accident for allegedly attempting to destroy evidence.

Hours after a speeding BMW hit a man and his wife in Mumbai’s Worli, killing the woman, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said he did not wish to add any “political colour” to the case even as police sources claimed that the car belonged to a leader of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.

Mr Thackeray met the victim’s husband at a police station in Mumbai and demanded that the accused driver be arrested. Speaking exclusively to NDTV outside the police station, Mr Thackeray said the accused has to be arrested “without any political influence.”

“It’s heart-wrenching. I don’t want to give any political colour to it. We have demanded the culprit be arrested. I met the victim, he told me how it happened. It was a clear hit-and-run,” he said.

In a post on X, the Shiv Sena leader said traffic rule violations have become more frequent in Mumbai and demanded severe punishment for those who break road rules.

“Driving cars in the wrong direction, jumping signals, tripling… everything is increasing in Mumbai! Now things like hit and run have started happening! Even if the person who caused the accident is arrested immediately, it is necessary not to allow such incidents to happen. For that, we have to go beyond politics and improve this situation! Drivers will be disciplined and offenders will be severely punished!” he wrote.

At 5.30 am, fish sellers Kaveri and Pradik Nakva were returning after buying fish from the Sassoon Dock when their two-wheeler was hit by a speeding BMW.

The crash caused the bike to overturn, flinging the couple onto the car’s bonnet. While the man managed to jump off the car, the wife was dragged for over 100 metres. She was rushed to the hospital but declared brought dead.

Police sources have claimed that the accused driver, 24-year-old Mihir Shah, is the son of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah.

He was drinking till late last night at Juhu and asked his driver to take him on a “long drive”, they said. At Worli, he insisted that his driver let him drive.

Shah was behind the wheel of the BMW as the two drove from Worli to Goregaon when the accident occurred. After the crash, the car’s number plate was taken off and kept inside the car to avoid identification of the vehicle.

Shah’s father and the driver are being questioned while a search is on to locate him.

Mumbai:

The speeding BMW that hit a scooter in Mumbai’s Worli this morning, leading to a woman’s death, was being driven by the 24-year-old son of a senior leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, police have said. Police also suspects that Mihir Shah, who is on the run, was drunk at the time of the incident. His blood test report is awaited. 

The accused in the son of Rajesh Shah, deputy leader of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. The politician and his driver, Rajendra Singh Bijawat, are now in police custody. 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.  

The vehicle is registered in Mihir Shah’s name. At the time of the accident, police said, the Sena leader’s son and their driver were in the luxury car. According to police sources, Mihir Shah drank at a bar in Juhu last night. On his way home, he asked the driver to take him a long drive. The car came to Worli and then Mihir insisted that he would drive. Soon after he took the wheel, the speeding BMW hit a scooter. 

On the scooter were Kaveri Nakva and her husband Pradik Nakva, residents of Worli’s Koliwada area. The fish-seller couple went to Sassoon Dock daily to fetch fish. They were on their way back, when the BMW crashed into their two-wheeler. The two were thrown into the air and crashed on the bonnet of the SUV. As the car kept speeding, Kaveri Nakva was run over. The car fled the spot and the woman was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead. Her husband, Pradik, suffered minor injuries.  

Police sources have said Mihir called his father and told him about the crash. His phone has been off since then. Four police teams are looking for him.

The police’s investigation has also revealed attempts to destroy evidence. The car’s windshield has a Shiv Sena sticker, which has been scratched, apparently to conceal the vehicle’s link with the Sena leader. One of the car’s number plates was also removed after the accident, but police scanned the CCTV footage of the area to zero in on the vehicle.

Maharashtra Chief Minister and Sena Leader Eknath Shinde has termed the incident “unfortunate” and assured action. “Law will take its own course, everyone is equal before law. I have spoken to the police and strict action will be taken,” he said.

The incident comes months after a similar case of drink-driving left two 24-year-old engineers dead in Pune. 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 aftermath of the accident for allegedly attempting to destroy evidence.