Learner runs SUV over homeless mother of four minor kids in Lower Parel

On Tuesday night, Poonam Kharwa was walking at a junction under the Elphinstone flyover when an SUV ran over her while taking a U-turn

MUMBAI: “My three-year-old sister has been crying for our mother and asking about her since Wednesday. I am unable to tell her anything,” said a desolate Sahil Kharwa, who, at 14, is now the eldest member of his family. On Tuesday night, his 36-year-old mother, the family’s sole breadwinner, was killed after being run over by a car in Lower Parel.

Mumbai, India - Aug 01, 2024: 14-year-old Sahil Kharwa is pointing out the spot of the accident where his mother lost her life after being hit by a speeding car in the Parel area in Mumbai, India.01, 2024. (Photo by Raju Shinde/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Poonam Ravi Kharwa and her four children—Sahil, 14; Roshni, 10; Amir, 7; and Laxmi, 3—were homeless and lived under the Elphinstone flyover near Kamala Mills in Lower Parel. She used to make gajras (flower garlands), which Sahil sold in the Lower Parel area. Poonam’s husband had left the family long ago.

On Tuesday night, Poonam was walking at a junction under the flyover when an SUV ran over her while taking a U-turn. According to the police, Akshay Kishore Patel, a 28-year-old software engineer who only had a learner’s licence, was at the wheel. The car, a Tata Punch, belonged to his colleague Harshita Ahuja, who was in the passenger’s seat.

Patel drove the car from Kamala Mills, where his office is located, and was taking a U-turn near Modern Kitchen on Senapati Bapat Marg to proceed to the southbound lane when the accident occurred. “While he was taking the U-turn, suddenly a woman came in front of the SUV, due to which he panicked and hit the woman, who was then thrown on the road divider and suffered head injuries,” said an officer from NM Joshi Marg police station.

Patel rushed Kharwa to BYL Nair Hospital, where she was declared dead before admission. “The woman was identified as Poonam Ravi Kharwa, 36, who stayed on the footpath with her four children,” said the police officer. “The vehicle driver, Akshay Patel, has a learner’s driving licence. The woman beside him had a regular licence and owns the vehicle. We detained the accused and later allowed him to go after giving him a notice of appearance.”

The police registered a case against Patel under sections 106 (1) (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving or riding or riding on a public way) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, and section 3(1) of the Motor Vehicle Act (driving a motor vehicle in any public place without an effective driving licence).

A grief-stricken Sahil hopes the police will do justice to the family. “I have kept all my siblings at my uncle’s place in Mumbai Central, but I don’t know what to do. My father left us long back. We have nobody to take care of us except my mother, and now we have also lost her. I am completely clueless.”