Residents chase car involved in hit-and-run in Byculla, driver arrested

A driver was arrested on Sunday after his car allegedly hit two men near Reay Road past Saturday midnight (Representational image)

The driver of a high-end car was arrested on Sunday after he allegedly hit two men near Reay Road past Saturday midnight. The accused, Mehboob Alam, 32, was allegedly drunk at the time of the incident, police said. He was produced before a court that remanded him in judicial custody.

The incident took place opposite Vatsalya building on the Sant Savata Mali Road near Reay Road. “After dropping off his employer at the airport, he drove to south Mumbai and consumed alcohol. We have found a bottle of alcohol in the vehicle,” a senior police officer said.

Alam was returning to his Sion residence and was allegedly driving at a high speed, police said.

Mohammad Javed (24), one of the men who sustained injuries in the accident, filed a complaint against Alam. “My brother Yunus and I were sitting on our parked two-wheeler and chatting. Suddenly, this car came at a high speed and hit the bike. We were thrown off a few metres away. Soon, a police vehicle also came chasing the four-wheeler.

The bike was badly damaged. On hearing the chaos, local residents started chasing the car and managed to track him down on the Bombay Port Trust road. The crowd beat the driver and handed him over to the police,” Javed said. The brothers were taken to JJ Hospital and discharged after preliminary treatment.

“By the time we arrested him, the local residents had already thrashed him. Alam appeared to be under the influence of alcohol so we could not question him much,” an officer said.

The Byculla police booked the driver under Sections 279 (rash and negligent driving), 337 (causing hurt and endangering the lives of others) of the Indian Penal Code and sections 134 (duty of driver in case of an accident), 184 (driving dangerously) and 185 (driving by a drunken person). The accused was produced before a local court that remanded him in judicial custody.

An officer said they are trying to find out if any other person sustained injuries when the accused was trying to escape. The adjacent RAK Marg police and Sewri police stations said they had not received any complaints as of yet.