Fallen number plate leads police to accused in hit-and-run incident

A hit and run incident in Mumbai led police to the driver after they found the fallen number plate of the vehicle involved. The driver has been arrested and booked for causing death by negligence.

MUMBAI: The fallen number plate of a vehicle led the police to its driver, who was involved in a hit and run incident in which a 55-year-old cyclist was killed early on Tuesday.

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The accused, Shahbaz Abdulkadir Shaikh, 32, was nabbed from Marol by the MIDC police on Wednesday and booked for causing death by negligence. The deceased has been identified as Hazarilal Patel, a milk delivery man and a resident of Jogeshwari.

The accident took place around 5.30 am on Marol Maroshi Road when Patel was on his way to deliver milk as per his routine. Sheikh had fled the scene after the accident. The police took Patel to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

While assessing the crime scene, the investigators found the number plate of a car and based on their findings, registered a case against the unknown driver of the said car.

The police learnt that the car in question had been sold a year ago, but the registration of the vehicle had not been transferred to the new owner as the previous owner had misplaced the RC book.

With the help of agents who had helped with the sale of the car, the police identified Sheikh, a resident of Marol, as the driver they were looking for. On Wednesday afternoon, they arrested him.

“The accused ran away after the accident. When we visited his residence, family members told us he had not returned home since the morning,” said an officer from MIDC police. He added that Sheikh’s phone was switched off throughout the day.

The police then circulated Sheikh’s picture among their network of informants, who led them to his location, not far from his residence in Marol. Sheikh will be produced in court on Thursday, said the officer.

Patel was from Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, and had been living in Mumbai for the last 20 years, his roommate Subhash Yadav told the police.

“He would start at 5 am every day from our house in Jogeshwari East to pick up milk from a stable nearby and deliver it to various houses in Andheri East,” said Yadav.

The officer said that the Sheikh has been booked under sections 279 (rash driving) and 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections of the Motor Vehicle Act.

“The accused made things worse for himself by running away from the accident spot instead of helping the victim and informing the police. He further complicated things by running away from his home when he knew that we would be looking for him,” said the officer.