4 killed in Navi Mum on Jan 1 due to reckless driving

NAVI MUMBAI: Two pedestrians and two bikers, including a delivery boy, were killed in separate incidents of rash and reckless driving in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday - the first day of the new year. The deceased pedestrians, who were hit while crossing roads – have been identified as Rajan Basumotari, 57, from Panvel and Devkrishna Sreelal Sharma, 64, from Kalamboli.

Basumotari was run over by a speeding car in Panvel on January 1 on the Mumbai-Goa highway. “After the accident, the driver abandoned the vehicle and ran away. The owner of the vehicle eventually came and provided the police with the driver’s details and, accordingly, a notice for appearance was issued to him,” said the investigating officer.

In the other hit-and-run case, where Sharma was killed, the Kamothe police on Thursday registered a case against an unidentified person under section 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) and other relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The CBD Police, on the other hand, are investigating the death of a delivery boy from Kandivali, identified as Prasenjit Prakash Tayade, 25, on January 1, while riding an Activa on Killa junction bridge towards Ulwe, after an unidentified vehicle hit his scooter around 4:25 pm. “He was on his way to work when a speeding vehicle ran over him. We are checking the CCTV footage to identify the vehicle,” said the officer.

The fourth incident from January 1 occurred at Uran where Krunal Krushna Garade, 30, was killed after an unidentified vehicle rammed into his scooty. The Uran police are investigating the matter.

In another incident, Vashi resident Santosh Vishwanath Patil, 54, was allegedly run over by a biker, identified as Harish Goswami, a resident of Koparkhairane, on December 22, but the case was registered on January 1. “Patil was a contractual worker with Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) and used to work on emergency duty as a driver for the civic hospital. He was walking from the rear gate of the Vashi hospital when the speeding biker crashed into him,” said the investigating officer.