A 30-year-old businessman, drunk and driving at breakneck speed rammed on to a two-wheeler killing a 48-year-old pillion rider and injuring the driver at Marine Drive early on Wednesday morning. The accused then tried to escape and crashed into three other vehicles before the police apprehended him at Walkeshwar Road.
The accused Sushil Rajendra Kothari, who runs a construction business was driving towards his home in the affluent Walkeshwar area of south Mumbai, at around 1.30 am when he rammed his Honda Accord into a two wheeler (a Honda Activa). The impact was such that Haji Zulfikar Ahmad Quereshi (48), a resident of Nagpada who was the pillion rider was killed instantly.
The vehicle was driven by Jalil Abdul Rehman, who sustained injuries in the accident and is recuperating at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Saifee Hospital in Charni Road.
The police said that Kothari escaped from the spot after the accident. “There were few bikers who witnessed the accident. They chased him right upto the Parsi agiary and nabbed him,” said Zeeshan Rehman, son of Abdul who was injured in the accident. Subsequently, the news of the accident was also passed to the wireless police vans.
Kothari went ahead and dashed into two Hyundai Santros and one Indigo near the Parsi agiary on Walkeshwar Road.
“Kothari was attempting to escape, but could not as one of the tyres of his car gave way,” said senior inspector of Malabar Hill police Vasant Divte said. The beat marshals in the vicinity arrested Kothari. The police stated that the preliminary medical report has revealed that Kothari was driving in an inebriated condition.
Kothari has been booked by both the Malabar Hill and the Marine Drive police stations, as he has committed offences in both jurisdictions before being arrested. While he was produced in court by the Malabar Hill police and granted bail on Wednesday, he will now be produced by the Marine Drive police on Thursday.
“As the charges against him in Marine Drive are of a more serious nature, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, the chances of him being remanded to police custody are higher,” said an senior police officer with the Zone I police.