Worli Hit-&-Run: Accused Mihir Confesses to Driving BMW; Father Removed From State Cabinet

Worli Hit-And-Run: Mihir Shah, the prime accused in the Worli hit-and-run case, confessed that he was driving the BMW that crushed a woman to death on Sunday. Mihir, the absconding accused in the Worli BMW hit-and-run case and son of a Shiv Sena politician, was arrested on Tuesday, three days after he allegedly rammed his luxury car into a two-wheeler, killing Kaveri Nakhwa (45). If sources are to be believed, the mobile phone of a friend of the key accused Mihir played a crucial role in leading the police to his location.  Meanwhile, Shiv Sena removed Rajesh Shah, father of Mihir Shah, from the post of deputy leader of the party. He was relieved from the post after the order of CM Eknath Shinde.  

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), on the other hand, demolished illegal portions of the Tapas Bar in Juhu. For the unversed, this is the same bar where Mihir had partied with his friends before the tragic incident took place in Worli.

How Police Nabbed Mihir Shah After 72 Hours

Mihir Shah, who was untraceable after allegedly running over a woman with his BMW in Worli, was taken into custody on Tuesday. It took the Mumbai Police three days to catch the accused, who had reportedly been staying at the Shahapur Resort with friends and family and had turned off his mobile phone, making it challenging for authorities to track his whereabouts. Sources revealed that Shah had been communicating with several individuals using a friend’s phone from Palghar and Borivali. Last night, Shah, accompanied by two friends, left Shahapur for Virar without informing his family.

In a crucial breakthrough, Shah’s friend turned on his mobile phone for just 15 minutes before switching it off again. The phone, which was under police surveillance, allowed authorities to pinpoint Shah's location. The phone’s brief activation was enough for the police to trace it to Virar. Acting on this information, a team from the Worli Police Station was dispatched to Virar. Upon arrival, they detained Mihir Shah. Simultaneously, the remaining 12 individuals associated with Shah were nabbed at Shahapur.

Worli Hit-And-Run | 10 Latest Developments In The Case

• Mihir Shah to be charged with drunk driving, police reportedly said. His mother and two sisters were brought to Mumbai for questioning from Shahapur in Thane district. They are being quizzed along with 10 others.
• CCTV footage produced by police in court showed Kaveri Nakhwa being dragged by the car for 1.5 kilometres.
• Footage showed Mihir Shah and Bidawat pulling the woman off the bonnet, placing her on the road and then mowing her down again while reversing the luxury vehicle.
• "After she was dragged from Worli, Mihir and Bidawat stopped the car just before BWSL and removed the woman who had got entangled in the vehicle's tyre. Bidawat then took the driver's seat and ran the car over the victim while reversing. They then fled," an official said.
• As per the probe so far, Mihir was partying with four friends in a bar in Juhu till the early hours of Sunday, after which he and his driver proceeded towards south Mumbai. The police have also recovered the bar bill of Rs 18,000 and are verifying it, while CCTV footage of the bar is also being examined.
• Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde asserted no one would be spared in the case. "No one, whether rich, influential or the offspring of bureaucrats or ministers, affiliated with any party, will have immunity as long as I am the chief minister,” he said.
• Maharashtra LoP & Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said, "The govt and the police have tried to hush up the issue. He (prime accused Mihir Shah) was not intentionally arrested as he was drunk and it would have come into a blood sample, I'll say that the police had hidden him. When they tested him twice and alcohol wasn't found in the blood sample, then only he was produced before the police. I demand a high-level inquiry into this matter."
• Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Aaditya Thackeray, who represents the Worli assembly constituency, in a post on X on Sunday said, "I will not go into the political leanings of Shah, the accused of the hit and run, but I hope the police will act swiftly to catch the accused and bring him to justice. Hopefully, there will be no political refuge by the regime.”
• Pradeep Nakhwa, the husband of Kaveri Nakhwa, the victim of the recent Mumbai BMW hit-and-run incident, has voiced his frustration with the current handling of the case by the police.
• "He was arrested after 3 days? If he (Mihir Shah) wasn't alcoholic, if he hadn't taken drugs, then why did he go into hiding? Why was he absconding for 3 days? You abandoned the vehicle on the way and broke the number plate before running away. Now there won't be any traces of alcohol in his body. There are 20 lawyers with him but we are poor, who will give justice to us?” the dejected Husband asked.