Worli Hit-And-Run: How Police Nabbed Mihir Shah After 72 Hours

Mumbai: Mihir Shah, 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 a woman and injuring her husband.  Mihir, 24, who managed to evade the police since Sunday morning, was arrested from Virar near Mumbai. 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, Mihir's mother and two sisters were brought to Mumbai for questioning from Shahapur in Thane district. They are being quizzed along with 10 others. The police stated that Mihir Mihir's politician father Rajesh Shah actively ensured his son's escape and had plans to tow away the BMW car after the accident. 

How Police Nabbed Mihir Shah After 72 Hours 

Mihir Shah, who was untraceable, after allegedly running over a woman with his BMW in Worli has been taken into custody on Tuesday. It took the Mumbai Police three days to catch the accused as Shah, who was reportedly staying at the Shahapur Resort with friends and family, had turned off his mobile phone, making it challenging for authorities to track his whereabouts, sources told Republic world.    

Despite initial difficulties in locating Shah due to the phone being switched off, 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.

This morning, 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 

The luxury car driven by Mihir rammed into a two-wheeler from behind in the Worli area on Sunday morning, resulting in the death of Kaveri Nakhwa (45), who was riding pillion, while her husband Pradeep survived with injuries. Kaveri Nakhwa was dragged for around 1.5 km by the speeding car before Mihir pulled it over, swapped the seat with his driver, and fled in another vehicle, according to police.

Chilling details of the accident emerged in CCTV footage produced by police in the court on Monday. The footage shows Kaveri Nakhwa being dragged by the BMW car for 1.5 kilometres before the car stopped. Mihir and Bidawat pulled the woman off the bonnet, placed her on the road, and swapped seats. While reversing the car, Bidawat ran over the victim before fleeing.

"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.

Victim's Family Demands Harshest Punishment

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.

Nakhhwa also debunked the 'dragged for 1.5 km' claim and said that his wife was dragged for 3 km. "Not 1.5 km, the accused dragged my wife from Ceejay House to Sea Link," said Nakhhwa. 

The victim’s husband further said that accused was aware about the presence of his wife at the time of the incident. "The accused was aware that my wife was under his car...I hit his car's bonnet, asked him to stop the car but he didn't take the car on reverse," he said.