Share broker on way to temple in Kandivli hit by car, dies

Shah’s scooter was hit from behind; Ashish Shah who died in the road accident in Kandivli on Tuesday and The Telangana-registered car involved in the mishap. The accused is out on bail

A 51-year-old share broker died on Tuesday, hours after a car rammed into his scooter in Kandivli. Ashish Shah, who was on his way to a temple at the time of the mishap, is survived by his bed-ridden father, wife and son. He had lost his mother to COVID recently. The accused and his friend were out looking for food when the accident occurred, said the police.

Friends and family members said Shah, a resident of Ambrose Tower near Thakur School at Dhanukarwadi, visited the ‘Kala Hanuman' temple on MG Road every day in the early hours.

Around 4 am on Tuesday, Shah had taken a friend along when a Hyundai Verna car hit his two-wheeler from behind. Shah was tossed into the air before crashing to the ground.

"The accused tried to flee, but passersby intercepted them and demanded that they take him to the hospital. They got him admitted to Shatabdi Hospital and his family later shifted him to Karuna Hospital. But Shah died of the injuries around 10 pm," said advocate Mahesh Rajpopat, a family friend.

Shah's brother Himanshu said, "His [Shah's] 20-year-old son is a student. He was the only earning member of the family. Our mother died recently due to COVID."

Police sources said accused Nitin Ganja, 22, was driving the car with registration number TS-09-FA-6616 and his friends Jai Bohra, Niraj Chayakar, Ridhaan Pathak, and Pranay Puthran were with him at the time of the accident. Ganja hails from Hyderabad and is now in the city to teach music. He and his sister, a student, live at Interface Heights, Malad West. His parents are in the Telangana capital.

The police said Ganja and his parents had lived at RNA Building, Charkop, some time ago and he has many friends there.

"Ganja went to a friend's home on Monday and five of them played online soccer through the night. They had ordered food but it got delayed. Since they were hungry, they set out looking for food on the roadside when the accident happened," said an officer.

Ganja was booked for rash driving and released on bail. "After Shah's death, we have included section 304(a) of the IPC which is death by negligent driving. We will produce him in court at the time of filing the charge sheet," said Senior Inspector Babasaheb Salunkhe of Kandivli police station.