Mumbai BMW case: Two arrested, CM assures justice; Aaditya says 'no political refuge'

Mumbai: Police arrested two persons after a woman travelling on a scooter with her husband was fatally knocked down allegedly by a BMW car in Mumbai’s Worli area in the early hours of Sunday, an official said.

Kaveri Nakhwa (45) was going with her husband Pradip on the arterial Annie Besant Road when the luxury car's driver lost control of the vehicle and crashed it into the couple's two-wheeler around 5.30 am, the official said. According to the official, the accused – Rajesh Shah, who was driving the car, and Rajrishi Rajendrasingh Bidawat, the other occupant – were brought to the police station after the incident.

The two were arrested in the evening after a preliminary probe established their alleged role in the fatal crash, said the official from Worli police station.

Kaveri and her husband are fisherfolk and were on their way home in Worli Koliwada from Sassoon Dock in Colaba when the BMW car hit their scooter, he said. “Kaveri Nakhwa fell on the road. Passersby alerted police about the incident. She was rushed to civic-run Nair Hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival,” the official said.

Shah and Bidawat have been booked under sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which recently replaced the Indian Penal Code, he said. Speaking about the incident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said the law was equal for everyone and no one would be spared.

Asked if the man involved in the accident was a Shiv Sena leader's son, the CM just said, "The law is equal for all and the government sees every case in the same way. There will be no separate rule for this accident. Everything will be done as per the law." "The police will not shield anyone. The Mumbai accident is unfortunate. I have spoken to the police department to take strict action," he added.

In a post on X, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and local MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who represents the Worli assembly constituency, said he would not go into the "political leanings" of Shah but hoped "there will be no political refuge by the regime".

"Visited the Worli Police Station today and met with senior police officers investigating into the hit and run case that occurred in Worli today. I will not go into the political leanings of Mr 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," Thackeray said.

Thackeray said he and his MLC colleague Sunil Shinde met Pradip Nakhwa, the victim's husband, and promised all help to ensure the accused are brought to justice.

The case comes less than two months after the May 19 Porsche accident in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area.

Two IT professionals hailing from Madhya Pradesh were killed after the Porsche, allegedly driven by an inebriated minor driver, rammed into their motorcycle.

The case hit national headlines after the minor was given bail by the Juvenile Justice Board on lenient terms and the Pune police uncovered an effort allegedly involving the accused's parents and doctors of Sassoon Hospital to switch blood samples to nullify alcohol tests and also force the family driver take blame for the crash.

(Inputs from PTI)