Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde reacts strongly to hit-and-run incidents in the state
A day after a woman was killed in Mumbai when a BMW automobile rammed her, allegedly by Shiv Sena politician Rajesh Shah’s son Mihir Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde declared on Monday that there will be zero tolerance for hit-and-run drivers. He also stated that anyone who is wealthy, including politicians and their offspring, regardless of party membership, will not be immune as long as he is Chief Minister.
Shinde’s reaction came after an on-duty Pune Police constable was killed in a hit-and-run incident on Monday morning when a speeding automobile smashed his bike. The event followed a similar incident in Pune, in which a 17-year-old kid crashed his Porsche into two individuals riding a scooter, killing them on the spot, causing uproar.
‘Stricter laws being made for such offenders’: Shinde
Shinde tweeted that he was “deeply alarmed” by the surge in hit-and-run cases in Maharashtra, and that the state government was enacting stronger rules and heavier penalties for violators.
“I am deeply alarmed by the rise in hit-and-run incidents in Maharashtra. It is intolerable that the powerful and influential misuse their status to manipulate the system. Such miscarriages of justice will not be tolerated by my government,” he said.
Kaveri Nakhwa (45), a resident of Worli Koliwada, was going with her husband Pradeep on the arterial Dr Annie Besant Road when a BMW car, reportedly driven by Mihir Shah, collided with the couple’s two-wheeler about 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, according to police.
The car pulled the woman for more than 2 kilometers, according to a police official. She was transported to the hospital, where physicians pronounced her dead upon arrival.
Following the mishap, the suspects ran via the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. He fled near Kala Nagar in the Bandra region, leaving the car and his driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, behind, according to the official.
Mihir’s father, Rajesh Shah, a deputy leader of the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) from Palghar, and Bidawat were later arrested by Worli police on Sunday for allegedly assisting Mihir in his escape following the accident, according to the official.
