Lower Parel flyover accident: Hotel manager fled after leaving injured behind; held

A grab of the CCTV footage shows the collision between the car and the bike after the former took the abrupt U-turn

The NM Joshi Marg police have arrested a restaurant manager, who was driving the car that collided with a bike at the Phoenix Lower Parel flyover late Wednesday night, killing two people. The accused, identified as Amit Kumar, fled the spot leaving the injured writhing. Demanding strict punishment for the accused, families of both the deceased said that the duo would have survived if Kumar had immediately rushed them to a hospital.

According to the NM Joshi Marg police, the number of the car involved in the accident was not visible in the CCTV footage retrieved from the spot. Hence, they checked other CCTVs installed in the area and got the number, following which Kumar was arrested.

Krishna Kurhardkar and Bhavesh Sanghvi

Both the deceased, Bhavesh Sanghvi, 28 and Krishna Kurhardkar, 26 were working in Worli's 3M car showroom. Speaking to mid-day, Bhavesh's elder brother Rahul Sanghvi said, "Bhavesh and Krishna used to return home from the showroom on a bike around 7 pm to 8 pm. That day they got over with work late and while returning the accident happened near the Lower Parel Phoenix Mall flyover. The car, which was coming from the opposite direction, suddenly took a U-turn and dashed into their bike."

"Bhavesh lived in Ghatkopar. In such a situation now I have to take care of his parents and wife, whose education he was funding. The accused fled after the accident. The accused has no humanity, because if he did, he would have taken my injured brother to the hospital," he added.

Grabs of the CCTV footage retrieved from the spot show the bike skidding off the road after the collision and the car driving off

Ravi Kurhardkar, the brother of deceased Krishna Kurhardkar, said. "Krishna had been married for two-and-a-half years and he has a one-year-old daughter. Now who will take care of them? He died one-and-a-half hours after being taken to Nair Hospital. If the accused had immediately taken my brother to the hospital, he would have survived. The accused should be punished severely."

Senior Police Inspector of NM Joshi Marg police station, Pratap Bhosale said, "Accused Amit Kumar, a native of Himachal Pradesh, came to Mumbai a year ago and started working as a manager of Epitome - Global Dining & Bar in Mathuradas Mill Compound. During interrogation Kumar said that while he was on his way home, he got an urgent call from his wife and immediately took a U-turn when the accident happened."

Kumar was produced in Bhoiwada court and was later sent to judicial custody. Following this his lawyer Aditya Mokashi filed a bail application. The court granted him bail on a personal bond of Rs 15,000.

Speaking to mid-day, Advocate Mokashi said, "Kumar has got bail from the court. Some paperwork is left, he will be kept at NM Joshi police station till it is completed."

Eye-witness says

An eye-witness of the accident, Asfak Multani, who is a resident of Pydhonie, said that he was returning home from his cloth store in Khar on his scooter that night. When he reached the flyover at Lower Parel, the car ahead of him took a U-turn without giving any signal, and soon after the bike coming from the opposite side collided with it. The bike hit Multani's scooter as well, due to which he suffered injuries. Multani told mid-day, "The car was in high speed and it suddenly took a U-turn. The two injured people were lying on the road. That night the police called me and recorded my statement. My scooter is still at the police station."