Joyride on pothole-ridden road turns fatal for engineering student

A car driven by unlicensed teen Arnav Birari crashed in Kharghar, killing Darsh Jain and injuring Yash Maurya. Police have filed multiple charges.

NAVI MUMBAI: A car drive by a group of six teenagers, including an unlicensed driver, that was manoeuvring through the pothole-ridden road of Kharghar proved fatal for one and injured another.

Joyride on pothole-ridden road turns fatal for engineering student

Arnav Birari, on Tuesday, decided to take five of his friends on a ride on his father’s Wagon R at Kharghar in the afternoon. The friends that accompanied him for the drive included Paksh Sawariya, Yash Maurya, Agrima Parashar, Darsh Jain and Atharva Sumit Ravat. All the boys were 18-year-old engineering students. The deceased, Darsh Jain, was subjected to severe fatal injuries while Yash Maurya endured injuries.

The group was travelling via the Gurudwara road, sector 23. To avoid a pothole on the road, Arnav swerved the car to the right and rammed onto the road divider. “When the vehicle rammed onto the divider, the driver, in a state of panic, stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. Everyone present in the vehicle sustained minor injuries, but the Jain suffered extensive injury to the head as the car overturned on the side where he was seated,” said a police officer.

According to the complaint filed by one of the friends, Atharva Ravat, when Birari stepped on the accelerator, the vehicle overturned. Jain was trapped inside the vehicle while others managed to get out.

With the help of bystanders, Jain was removed from the vehicle and taken to sub-district hospital in Panvel where he was declared dead on arrival. During the investigation, Birari was found to be lacking a valid driver’s license. A case was registered under section 181 (driving without license), 184 (dangerous driving), 3(1) (necessity of a driving license) of Motor Vehicle Act (MVA) and section 106 (death due to rash and negligent driving), 125 (A) (minor injuries),125 (B) (serious injuries) and 281 (rash driving) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.