BMW hits Ganesh mandal volunteers in Mulund; 1 dead, 1 injured, driver held

Mumbai: In yet another hit-and-run incident involving a luxury car, a 33-year-old man was killed and his friend was seriously injured on Saturday after being hit by a speeding BMW while they were decorating the pandal of the famous ‘Mulundcha Raja’ Ganpati mandal in Mulund East.
The car owner, 32-year-old Shakti Aulakh alias Shawn, who was at the wheel during the accident fled from the spot but was later arrested from Navi Mumbai. Though he denied having consumed alcohol prior to driving, his blood sample has been collected and sent for medical analysis, said police.
The incident occurred at around 4am on Saturday along the 90-feet road in Gavanpada area in Mulund East. The deceased Pritam Thorat, 33, and his friend Prasad Patil, 38, both residents of Mulund, were putting up banners at the Mulundcha Raja pandal with other volunteers when they were hit by the white luxury car, said Chandrakant More, working president of the Ganpati mandal. “One of our volunteers even ran behind the car to nab the driver, but he sped away from the spot,” said More.
Both the injured were rushed to the nearby Savarkar hospital in Mulund East, where doctors declared Thorat brought dead while Patil, who was severely injured with fractures in both his legs and neck, was taken to Galaxy Hospital. He was later shifted to Jupiter Hospital in Thane on account of his critical condition and is currently on ventilator support, said More.
The Navghar police, after being intimated about the accident, formed eight teams to investigate the matter and nab the absconding accused. The owner of the vehicle with registration number MH04G E9720 was identified as Shakti Aulakh based on technical evidence and he was nabbed from Navi Mumbai Saturday afternoon. The vehicle involved in the accident was also seized, said police.
The accused, who lives in Mulund West with his family, is an IT professional. He used to work with a call centre but quit the job two months ago and is currently unemployed, said police. A few months ago, he bought the BMW for ₹11 lakh and pays monthly instalments of ₹35,000 to repay the bank loan.
In his statement recorded by the police, he said he had taken the car out for a ride on Saturday morning to check if it had been serviced properly. “He took a turn from Nahur on the Eastern Express Highway and was heading to Mulund West via the 90-feet road in Gavanpada when he hit the two people,” said a police officer.
He has been booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 125 (B) (act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) along with sections 134 (A), 134 (B) and 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act.
“He was produced in court on Sunday and remanded in police custody till September 10,” said senior inspector Madan Patil from the Mulund police station.