Thane woman, run over by bureaucrat’s son, moves court

The 26-year-old woman sustained a leg fracture after being mowed down. Pic/Prasun Choudhari

Forty-five days after a special investigation team (SIT) was formed to look into the mowing down of a social media influencer, the alleged perpetrator of the offence roams free. The 26-year-old complainant has now approached the Bombay High Court. I suspect that the police are trying to save Ashwajit Gaikwad [the accused]. It's been two months since he tried to mow me down with his car. Now he and other co-accused are roaming free as they received bail the very next day after the incident.

The police recorded my statement when I was under the influence of anaesthesia and I had demanded that they re-record it but so far no one had approached me for this. I suspect that the police added bailable sections deliberately. They are not giving me satisfactory answers regarding the slow investigation so I decided to file a writ petition in the high court," said the woman.

The complainant sustained injuries all over her body. File Pics/Rajesh Gupta

According to the writ petition, the woman demanded that Sections 307, 354 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) be added to the existing FIR and a separate FIR be filed under Section 376 (sexual assault) and 420 (cheating) against Gaikwad, the son of Anilkumar Gaikwad, the managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Cooperation (MSRDC).

‘He promised to marry me'

The complainant told mid-day, "Since we had been in a relationship for several years, Ashwajit had promised to marry me, which is why I allowed our relationship to progress. However, I was kept in the dark about his being married all the while. Hence the demand for a separate FIR." The matter came to light on December 16, when the woman posted about the incident on social media.

According to the police, the FIR was registered on December 11. The woman in an earlier statement had said, "I met Ashwajit at 3 am and we had a fight. Romil Patil, who is a friend of his, hit me and also tried to strangle me. Meanwhile, Ashwajit had also tried to strangle me and bit my hand. Then his driver Sagar Shelke started the car and rammed it into me, fracturing my leg. My boyfriend then fled with his friends without bothering to help me."

The Kasarvadavli police had booked five people under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 279 (rash driving), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 504 (intentional insult) and 34 (common intention) of the IPC. Following this, the SIT was formed. The police arrested Gaikwad, Patil and Shelke on December 17 and they were granted bail by the court on December 18.

Cop Speak
"We are investigating the matter. Appropriate action will be taken," said Amarsinh Jadhav, DCP, Zone 5.