The main accused in the BMW hit-and-run case and son of a Shiv Sena politician, Mihir Shah has been sent to an extended judicial custody till July 30.
Shah is accused of killing a 45-year-old woman, Kaveri Nakhwa, who was riding pillion with her husband, Pradeep Nakhwa on their scooter, when Shah's BMW allegedly driven by him in a drunken state hit them from behind.
The probe has revealed that Shah dragged the woman, who remained on the bonnet of the car, for over a kilometer towards the Bandra Worli Sea Link.
After the incident that occurred in the early hours of July 7, Shah went into hiding on the advice of his father, Rajesh Shah, who was sacked by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde from the post of deputy leader of the Shiv Sena’s Palghar unit after the case came to light.
His driver, Rajrishi Rajendrasingh Bidawat, was also with him at the time of the accident. According to the police investigation, CCTV footage showed the driver swapping seats with Shah, after which he reverses the car to run over the unconscious victim one more time before speeding off and out of the CCTV's view.
Shah was arrested on July 9, after absconding for nearly three days, from an apartment in Mahashtra's Virar area and was remanded till July 16.
The police traced him after one of his friends turned on his phone for 15 minutes. The friend was with Shah who led the police to him.
All three accused, Mihir Shah, Rajesh Shah, and the driver have been booked under various sections, including 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the new criminal code of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"He has not given any information about whom he met, or where all did he go after the crime. He threw away the number plate. There's no information on why he cut his hair," the police told a court as Shah's custody ended today.
The public prosecutor sought an extension for Shah's custody to find out "who all harbored him (when he went missing after the accident), he hasn't talked about it". As the investigation is underway and considering the gravity of the offence, the custody should be extended, the prosecution said.
The 24-year-old reportedly shaved his beard and cut his hair to evade arrest, the police earlier told the court.
"The investigation is still on. We need to know who gave him the car and shelter after the accident. For that we need an extension of the police custody," they said.
Shah's mother and sisters were also detained for questioning following his arrest. During the investigation, Shah allegedly admitted that he was a habitual drinker. On the night of the accident, after drinking alcohol from a Juhu bar, Shah and his driver bought four bottles of beer and were allegedly drinking on the way.
The police stressed that the "number plate which was removed by the two accused after the accident was an important evidence and needs to be found".
"We have still not found out the reason for the change in appearance," the public prosecutor told the court. While his father has been granted bail, their driver is currently in judicial custody.
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