Mumbai hit and run case: teacher booked, victim critical

The couple were identified as Bharatlal Verma and his wife Sunita. (Representative photo)

A 25-year-old dentistry student was severely injured in a hit and run, allegedly, involving a teacher last week. The teacher was booked, but since the charges against her were bailable, she was let off by the police in few hours after her arrest. The student remains on ventilator support at J J Hospital.

According to police, the teacher, Shikha Zaveri, 36, a resident of Napean Sea Road, was driving her Honda City car towards south Mumbai.  Around 3.20 pm, on March 24, she hit a the girl at the Taraporevala Aquarium signal. Zaveri did not stop her car, but sped away from the spot, the police said.

The complainant, Yazdi Driver, who is an eyewitness in the case, in his statement said that he was standing near the Zebra Crossing and he saw the girl, talking on the phone, cross the road when there was a red signal. The Honda City car broke the signal and hit the girl.

Driver then asked few people around to take the girl to the nearest hospital and used his motorcycle to allegedly chase Zaveri. He chased Zaveri and stood before the car on the next signal. When he saw some traffic cops coming towards him, he informed them about the incident and Zaveri was taken to the Marine Drive police station.
The victim was identified as Deepali Lahamte, hailing from Ahmednagar. She had completed her Bachelor of Dental Surgery from the Nair Hospital Dental College and was doing a one-year internship with the same college. Deepali stays at a hostel at Curry Road.

One the day of the accident, she was about to attend her younger brother Abhinay Lahamte’s MBBS convocation at Grant Medical College and Sir JJ hospital group gymkhana at Marine drive.

Abhinay told The Indian Express, “I was expecting my sister on the convocation day. At around 3.30 pm, I received a call from my mother, who said some one called her informing about my sister. Since my mother does not understand Hindi too well, she gave me the number and asked me to check. I kept calling but the phone was busy. I kept running between nearest hospitals looking for my sister. After sometime I got a call from Bhatia Hospital and then I found my sister there.”

Abhinay said that his sister is admitted to JJ Hospital and had severe brain damage. She is currently on ventilator support. According to police, Zaveri was accompanied by her daughter in the car. She was allegedly driving at high speed at the time of the accident.

Senior police inspector, Vilas Gangawane said that Zaveri is booked under 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of IPC along with Motor
Vehicle Act.

When contacted, Zaveri’s husband told The Indian Express, “She (Zaveri) is in tremendous shock and she is not in state to comment.”