One worker killed, another injured after being hit by actor Urmila Kothare’s car

MUMBAI: One labourer was killed, and another one was injured after being hit by a speeding car owned by Marathi actor Urmila Kothare in Kandivali early Saturday morning, officials said. The actor and her driver were also injured in the accident and were saved by the car’s airbags, officials added.

The deceased worker was identified as Samratdas Jeetendradas. He was rushed to Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle after the accident, where he succumbed to his injuries. The injured worker was identified as Saajan Bablu Ravidas. He has been admitted to the Mauli Hospital in Malad East. The Goregaon residents were contractual workers who hailed from West Bengal.

The police have registered a case of causing death by negligence and rash driving against Kothare’s driver, 58-year-old Gajanand Gunnipal, and initiated an investigation.

Kothare was returning to her Thane residence after a shoot when the accident occurred around 12:45 am on Saturday near the Poisar Metro station. Her driver lost control of the car, which was travelling at high speed, and hit the barricades placed near a civic work site where labourers were working, said the police.

The car hit two of the workers, killing Jeetendradas on the spot, while Ravidas was severely injured, said a police officer. Kothare’s car was badly damaged in the accident, but she and her driver escaped with minor injuries because of the timely deployment of the car’s airbags, added the police officer.

“There was ongoing pipe installation work near the metro station, and barricades were placed around,” said senior inspector Anil Patil from the Samta Nagar police station. “The car hit the barricades, and the labourers got hurt. One person has died, and the other is injured.”

An FIR has been registered against Gunnipal, a Dahisar resident, under sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence), 125 (A)(B) (act endangering life and personal safety of others), and 281 (rash driving) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 184 (dangerous driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act. “This is a fatal accident, so we have applied sections accordingly,” said Patil.

Kothare is a well-known Marathi actor who has appeared in films such as Duniyadaari, Shubhmangal Saavdhan, and Ti Sadhya Kay Karte. She recently starred in a television show, Tujech Mi Geet Gaat Ahe, marking her return to the small screen after a 12-year hiatus.