Police have invoked an additional section of death due to negligence (Section 304A) against the driver, who allegedly mowed down the vice-president of Credit Suisse, Ankur Rameshchandra Khandelwal, at Kharadi early on March 7. The man was driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.
Earlier, police booked the driver, identified as Jovinson James, under sections pertaining to rash driving and negligent act with intention to hurt of the Indian Penal Code. The complaint in this case was lodged by Khandelwal’s wife Roshni.
The driver was arrested, but later released on bail. Police also sent James’s blood sample to the forensic laboratory for a chemical analysis. According to police, further course of action whether to invoke section pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, will be decided after receiving the forensic report.
According to FIR, Ankur, his wife and nine-year-old son went to see a friend’s wife and were standing on a footpath, when a car at high speed hit him around 12.20 am. The car was at such high speed that it went on to hit the compound wall of a residential society causing it to collapse. Police said Khandelwal was crushed between the wall and the car.
He was grievously injured after being hit and succumbed to his injuries during treatment at Columbia Hospital. His wife Rashmi was also injured in the accident.
The incident sparked protests. Khandelwal’s family members and friends, colleagues and residents of Kharadi area protested on social media through a hashtag campaign. They demanded stringent action against the driver.
James was known to be an employee of ID Medical. On Wednesday, the company tweeted, “ID Medical has been working hard to gather all facts on this matter and, following due process and based on the evidence available to us, we have terminated the impugned employee’s employment with our organisation, with immediate effect.”