Hit-and-run on EEH: 37-yr-old cyclist killed

In a hit-and-run case, a 37-year-old woman cyclist died after she was allegedly knocked down by an unidentified vehicle in Vikhroli at eastern express highway (EEH) on Saturday morning.

The victim, Sheetal Yatin Jain is a resident of Samarth Nagar, which is near Chunabhatti railway station.

“Jain left her Chunabhatti resident at around 5.30am, as per her daily routine. Some witnesses found her lying on the road after which the police were informed. She was taken to hospital, where doctors declared her dead,” an officer from Vikhroli police station said.

Another officer, who did not wish to be named, said the accident occurred at around 7am while she was cycling on the south-bound stretch of the highway. “We suspect that the vehicle may have dashed her while she was attempting to take a U-turn. She was wearing a helmet and was found lying close to the divider,” he said.

The officer further added, “The cycle has not been majorly damaged. We are checking close circuit television cameras installed on the highway to find clues in the case.”

Jain was a member of a cycling group in the city and was also a solo rider.

Based on the complaint registered by her husband, Yatin Jain, 39, the Vikhroli police have registered a case against the unidentified accused under sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code and sections and 134 A and B (escaping from the spot without rendering help to the victim) of the Motor Vehicle Act.

This is not a first case of a cyclist being knocked down by a speeding vehicle in the morning hours. In 2017, a veteran cyclist Ashok Khale, 64, died in a road accident while he was on his way to Khopoli from Dadar.

Twenty-five-year-old Mois Shaikh, who admitted Khale to a hospital in Vashi, confessed that he had caused the crash.