Mumbai: FIR against biker after fatal joyride

Tanishq Patange against whom the FIR was filed; Renuka Tamhankar, 23; Nicole Dias 25

The Bhoiwada police have registered an FIR against Tanishq Patange for allegedly rash driving which led to the fatal accident that claimed the lives of Tanishq and his two friends. "We registered the FIR after recording the statement of an eyewitness and the dumper driver," said Senior Police Inspector Subhash Bhovate from Bhoiwada police station. The police also recorded the statement of an eyewitness.

According to the FIR, around 6.25 am on Tuesday (January 16), the police received information that an accident had occurred on the Parel T T bridge along Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Road. The police reached the spot and rushed the three victims - Tanishq Patange, 24; Renuka Tamhankar, 23; and Nicole Dias, 25 - to KEM Hospital where doctors them dead on arrival.

The scooter the trio was riding

According to the police, Tanishq was riding the scooter while Renuka and Nicole were seated behind him. None of them had worn helmets Tanishq allegedly lost his control of the two-wheeler, jumped the road divider and landed on the opposite side of the road where he collided head-on with an oncoming dumper truck.

As per the post-mortem report, the trio died due to shock and haemorrhage due to polytrauma. Meanwhile, the police sent their blood samples to check if they had consumed drugs or alcohol. The police are also looking to ascertain the route the three friends had taken by checking their phone call records and CCTV footage.

Tanishq has been booked under Sections 279 (rash driving), 304 (causing death by negligence) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Jan 15
Day the accident took place

279, 304
IPC sections under which rider has been booked

Why FIR against dead person

Senior PI Suhas Bhovate said, "We registered an FIR in this matter as we have to file an abetted summary before the court." An abetted summary is filed when an accused person dies before a charge sheet is filed. Advocate M H Nizam said, "Whether an FIR can be filed in the name of the deceased raises complex legal aspects. It only makes legal sense of the intentions of the cops is to show a legal liability of the rider so that insurance can later be claimed by the heirs of the other two deceased." Adv Karan Bhosale said, " The police shouldn't have filed an FIR against a dead person because it rules out the possibility of others' involvement in the case."