The forensic report of the 23-year-old accused in the hit-and-run case in Mumbai's Worli involving a luxury BMW sedan, contradicts claims that he was drunk at the time of the horrific collision.
No trace of alcohol has been found in the blood and urine samples of Mihir Shah despite police sources suggesting he was "heavily drunk" when he was driving the BMW.
The collision had claimed the life of a woman early July 7 morning while her husband was injured.
Protocol in suspected drink driving cases is to administer alcohol tests, but these can be ineffective 12 hours after the last drink. But Shah, whose father was a member of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction - now suspended, had evaded arrest for two days.
The police had said that Shah was arrested about 58 hours after the incident and this gap was enough for alcohol to be flushed out of his body. After his arrest, his blood and urine samples were sent for examination. The report was received by the Worli police yesterday.
A 'positive' forensic report - suggesting he was drunk - would have helped the cops but now they will now have to rely on circumstantial evidence while presenting the case in the court.
In the July 7 incident, Shah had allegedly rammed his speeding BMW into a two-wheeler in the Worli area. The impact was severe, causing their bike to overturn and throwing both the husband and wife onto the bonnet of the car. To save himself, the husband managed to jump off the bonnet. But his wife, Kaveri Nakhwa was dragged for 100 metres by the car as it tried to flee the scene. She was declared dead at a hospital while her husband Pradeep suffered injuries.
The husband had downplayed Shah's arrest and pointed out the odds were still stacked against him in his family's search for justice.
"We are poor. Who is there to support us... today, he will be sent to jail. Tomorrow he will be produced in court and then he will get bail," he had said.
Besides Shah, his politician father, mother and two sisters were also taken into custody. Rajshri Bidawat, the driver of Shah who had allegedly swapped seats with him before the incident, was also arrested.
Mihir Shah and his friends had partied at a Juhu bar, where he spent Rs 18,730, before he took the wheels of the BMW.
The bar, which was later sealed, had claimed they were provided with a false ID identifying him as a 27-year-old since the legal age for drinking is 25 in Maharashtra. Shah had a second round of drinks too, police sources had earlier told NDTV.
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