Cyrus Mistry death: The road narrowed while overtaking a heavy vehicle, Darius Pandole tells police

It has been two months since businessman Cyrus Mistry died in an accident on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway while travelling in his friend's Mercedes, but Palghar police are yet to file an FIR. They recently recorded the statement of Darius Pandole, the husband of renowned gynaecologist Dr Anahita Pandole who was driving the car.

Pandole was recently discharged after being treated for injuries caused in the accident on a bridge over Surya river in Charoti area of Palghar district. He told the police that the road suddenly narrowed down to two lanes from three and a heavy vehicle on their car's right left no space, causing them to crash into the parapet of the bridge.

"He [Darius] has recently been discharged from hospital. So, two of our officers went to his residence to record his statement in connection with the road accident in which Mistry and Jehangir Pandole died in September," Balasaheb Patil, superintendent of police, Palghar district, told mid-day. Dr Anahita was driving the car and Darius was seated next to her, while the billionaire businessman and Pandole's brother Jehangir were in the rear seat. They were returning from Gujarat.

Also Read: Cyrus Mistry death: Darius Pandole finally discharged from hospital

"In his statement, Darius Pandole said that there was one heavy vehicle on the right side of Mercedes. He said Dr Anahita was trying to overtake the heavy vehicle from the left side, but suddenly the road became narrow, reducing to two lanes from three lanes, and crashed into the parapet of the bridge," Patil said.

The place where Mistry's car crashed is an accident black spot. On September 5, mid-day was first to highlight that possible misjudgement of the driver, sudden narrowing of the lane on the highway and possible overtaking could have caused the fatal accident.

Poor road designs and the ‘V' and ‘L' shaped build at the black spot on the bridge have caused many fatal accidents on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway. A series of mid-day's reports prompted the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) officials to put up warning signs, but they are yet to fix the faulty parapet.

In 2020, the NHAI engaged a company to carry out a safety audit of the highway, with the help of independent engineers. The audit report did not highlight the black spot where Mistry died. Harbans Singh Nanade, the spokesperson for All India Vahan Chalak Malak Mahasangh, slammed the NHAI, saying they are waiting for another disaster to happen.

When asked for the reason to not file an FIR, Patil said, "Our investigations are underway. We are yet to record the statement of Dr Anahita Pandole, who was behind the wheels. She is still hospitalised," Patil added.

Sept 4
Day the Mercedes crashed on the Charoti bridge