In BMW Hit-And-Run, Accused Admits Was Driving But Not Drunk: Sources

The police had formed multiple teams to catch Mihir Shah

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.