09 July,2024 07:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Aaditya Thackeray while addressing the press on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Abedi
The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and Worli MLA Aaditya Thackeray on Tuesday demanded the Mumbai hit and run case involving Mihir Shah, son of a leader from the CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, be treated as murder, reported the PTI.
Talking to reporters, Aaditya Thackeray questioned the delay in arresting Mihir, son of Sena politician Rajesh Shah.
Mihir was arrested on Tuesday by Mumbai Police from Virar, two days after he allegedly rammed his BMW car into a two-wheeler, killing a woman and injuring her husband in Worli.
"This case should not be treated as a hit-and-run incident. This is a case of murder, and we demand that it should be treated like that," Aaditya Thackeray said, according to the PTI.
Mihir and other accused persons, including Rajesh Shah's driver Rajrishi Bidawat, have been booked under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) including section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), according to the police.
The police had earlier stated that Rajesh Shah actively ensured Mihir's escape after the car crash. Rajesh Shah is currently out on bail.
Chilling details of the accident emerged in CCTV footage produced by police in the court on Monday.
The footage shows Kaveri Nakhwa, who was riding pillion on the two-wheeler, being dragged by the BMW car for 1.5 kilometres before the car stopped. Mihir and Bidawat pulled the woman off the bonnet, placed her on the road, and swapped seats. While reversing the car, Bidawat ran over the victim before fleeing, the news agency reported on Tuesday.
Aaditya Thackeray, who represents the Worli assembly constituency, alleged negligence by the police in arresting Mihir.
"Where was Mihir Shah hiding for 60 hours? The chief minister must answer," he said.
Police are questioning Mihir's mother and two sisters along with 10 others, a police official said.
Under fire from the opposition over the rise in hit-and-run accidents in the state, Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde had asserted no one would be spared such cases.
(with PTI inputs)
