MUMBAI: Autorickshaw driver Ganesh Yadav (36) died after an SUV ran over him while his friend Bablu Shrivastav (36), a courier boy, escaped with bruises to his face and left hand, when they were sleeping on Versova beach early Monday. Police have arrested the SUV driver, Nikhil Jawade (34), from Nagpur and his friend, Shubham Dongare (33), from Airoli. Both accused are partners in a cab service business, reports V Narayan.
The victims, both residents of a slum in Sagar Kutir Rahivasi Sangh, had decided to sleep on the beach to escape the heat. At 5:45am, the speeding SUV entered the beach against rules and ran over Yadav while barely missing Shrivastav’s face.
BOTH BEACH ACCIDENT ACCUSED TO BE TESTED FOR BLOOD ALCOHOL
The tragedy at Versova beach in which an autorickshaw driver was run over and his friend left injured took place at 5:45am on Monday, five hours after the duo came to the beach to beat the heat.
The arrested accused were produced before Andheri court on Tuesday and remanded to five days in police custody. They have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita including 105 for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, 125 (A) for endangering life, 239 for intentional omission to give information of offence by a person bound to inform, 281 for rash driving and 3 (5) for an act done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention as well as sections of the Motor Vehicle Act.
“The driver and his friend were arrested within a few hours of the offence. While prima facie they do not seem to have been drunk, their blood samples have been collected for examination to check whether they were under the influence of alcohol when the incident occurred,” said DCP (Zone IX) Raj Tilak Roshan.
Shrivastav, who survived the incident, is struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss of his friend. “At 12.05am on Monday I met Yadav who said he planned to sleep on the beach as it was hot in his room. I joined him, and both of us went to the beach at 12.30am with mats. Yadav was sleeping to my left. At 5:45am, I woke up with a jolt as I felt something hit my hand and face, only to discover my friend lying in a pool of blood, having been run over by an SUV,” Shrivastav told TOI.
Despite vehicles not being allowed on the beach, the SUV entered through a narrow route passing through hutments. Locals who witnessed the incident suspect that the two accused were drunk.
“A local captured the vehicle’s number on his mobile phone, which helped Versova police track the duo within three hours of the incident. After taking the vehicle’s photo, the local tried to stop the SUV but the accused tried to run him over. The CCTV installed on the beach was not functional,” alleged Ganesh Thakur who runs Pravasi Sangh, an organisation for migrants.
Shrivastav was taken to Cooper Hospital in Juhu and discharged after treatment.
Thakur said Shrivastav and Yadav had lived in Versova for 15 years. Shrivastav, who is unmarried and lives alone, recently rented a room. Yadav lived with his elder brother while his younger brother is in UP. His elder brother, a security guard, left for Nashik on Tuesday to perform his final rites.
Versova police have seized the SUV registered in the name of Satish S in Nagpur. The accused had taken the SUV on contract from Satish to run their cab business. Jawade had come to Mumbai to meet Dongare after dropping a customer and decided to tour the city.
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