Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, who died in a car accident on Sunday, was not wearing a seat belt, early investigations reveal according to police sources.
It appears that the driver lost control of the car, which was speeding, and this led to the accident, they added.
Cyrus Mistry was travelling from Gujarat's Udwada to Mumbai along with Jehangir Pandole, Anahita Pandole and Darius Pandole, when the accident took place at around 2.30 pm on Sunday. Anahita Pandole, a Mumbai-based gynecologist, was driving the car, a Mercedes.
Jehangir Pandole, who was sitting next to Mr Mistry in the back seat, also died in the accident, while Anahita Pandole and her husband Darius Pandole were seriously injured.
The curtain airbags did not open for Cyrus Mistry and Jahangir Pandole because they both were not wearing the seat belts, officials said.
The car tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side when it hit a road divider on a bridge over the Surya river at Charoti Naka, police had said yesterday.
The police are analysing the footage captured by the CCTV cameras near the spot and the car is being investigated to ascertain if it had any mechanical issues. They are also trying to retrieve data from a chip assembled in the vehicle - similar to a black box, officials said.
The forensic team have also collected samples from the accident site.
Cyrus Mistry, who was the sixth chairman of Tata Sons, was ousted from the position in October 2016. He had taken over as the chairman in December 2012 after Ratan Tata announced his retirement. He is survived by his wife Rohiqa and their two sons.
Darius Pandole, a former independent director in Tata group of companies, had opposed the removal of Mr Mistry as the company's chairman. He also left the Tata group along with Mr Mistry. Jehangir Pandole was Darius Pandole's brother.
