Minor on joyride rams car into footpath in Malad West, one dead

A speeding car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old college student, crashed into the footpath killing one person and injuring another in Malad West on Tuesday. The Bangur Nagar police have booked the minor and his friend who had lent him the four-wheeler despite knowing that he did not have a driving licence.

According to constable Kiran Ashok Gagurde, one Vishal Dalvi informed him at 8.30am that a car had hit two men and later dashed into a tree near Interface Building number 7 at Mindspace at New Link Road. On reaching the spot, Gangurde found that the front portion of the car, a Suzuki Boleno, was damaged and there were blood splotches around it.

Gangurde said the eyewitnesses told them that they had caught the accused and the person on the passenger seat. “When I enquired, the driver disclosed his name as Mohammed Hamid Banikar. He showed me his Aadhar which stated his date of birth as April 10, 2006.”

The other man was identified as Sameer Shaikh, 19, and both are residents of Jogeshwari. The duo had borrowed the car from a friend - Saad Faizal Solanki, and were out on a joyride, the constable said. Solanki, who had taken the car on rent from one Asif Khan, was aware that Banikar was a minor and did not possess a driving licence, Gangurde said.

Pradeep Subhash Gaikwad, a businessman, allegedly told the police that he was out on a morning walk when he saw the car speeding towards the footpath. After a few seconds he noticed that the car was moving in a zigzag manner and before he could react, the car climbed onto the footpath and hit the two men standing there. “The men were bleeding,” Gaikwad added.

One of the injured, Shubham Rawat, was rushed to Altiyuz multifacility hospital in Chincholi Bandar and the other man, Dattaram Ayer, was taken to Shatabdi Hospital, police officers said.

“Since Banikar and Shaikh suffered minor injuries, we took them to Shatabdi Hospital and later brough them to the police station,” Gangurde said.

The police officers later learnt that 21-year-old Rawat, a resident of Goregaon East, had suffered a severe head injury and had died during treatment. Malwani resident Ayer, 55, who works as a housekeeping employee with Modern Facility Management, was discharged after treatment.

“I was sweeping the sidewalk when something hit me from behind. I was hurt but I could see that the person standing next to me was badly injured. I felt giddy and the next thing I knew was that I was in Shatabdi Hospital,” Ayer said.

The police have registered a case against Banikar and Solanki under section 304A (causing death due to negligence), 337 (causing hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt to any person by doing any act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life, or the personal safety of others), and 427 (mischief causing damage) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.