Nagpur Audi crash: Maharashtra BJP chief's son Sanket Bawankule admitted he was in car, say cops

Police had booked Arjun Jitendra Hawre, Sanket’s 24-year-old friend who was allegedly driving the car, and Ronit Chintamwar, 27, who was in the car

NAGPUR: Sanket Bawankule, the son of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, has confessed that he was in his Audi when it hit several vehicles in Nagpur in the early hours of Monday, injuring two people, the police said on Tuesday.

Nagpur Audi accident: Maharashtra BJP chief’s son Sanket Bawankule confessed he was in the car, say police

On Monday, the police had said that Sanket was not in the vehicle. They had booked Arjun Jitendra Hawre, Sanket’s 24-year-old friend who was allegedly driving the car, and Ronit Chintamwar, 27, who was in the car at the time of the accident.

However, Rahul Madane, deputy commissioner of police (zone II), Nagpur, on Tuesday said that when Sanket was called for an inquiry, he confessed he was in the car when the accident occurred.

According to the police, the three occupants of the car were on their way back from a bar in Dharampeth when it first hit complainant Jitendra Sonkamble’s car around 12.45 am on Monday, before knocking into two other four-wheelers and a two-wheeler. The two people on the two-wheeler sustained minor injuries.

The police arrested Hawre but he was later granted bail as it was a bailable offence, said Madane. The blood samples of both Hawre and Chintamwar have been sent for testing to determine if they had consumed alcohol.

On Monday, Chandrashekhar Bawankule had said that his son was not in the vehicle at the time of the accident and had called for an “impartial investigation into the accident without bias”. On Tuesday, the BJP leader told ANI: “I have said this yesterday also: whether the car is in the name of my son or a criminal, proper action should be taken against them. The police have given me the primary information. Justice should be equal to all.”

Meanwhile, West Nagpur’s Congress MLA Vikas Thakre described the entire incident as unfortunate and said the law should take its course without interference. “If the son of a political leader is indeed involved, it should be investigated thoroughly. If not, then he should not be targeted,” Thakre said.

On Monday night, the Maharashtra unit of the Congress shared a purported video of the incident on X and alleged that the BJP-led state government was trying to “save and hide” Sanket Bawankule. “In Nagpur, the son of a senior BJP leader hit four to five cars in the middle of the night while drunk, after which the entire home department went to work to save and hide the boy. So, is law and order only meant to torment the common people?” the post read.

Gajraj Hatewar, general secretary of the Nagpur Congress committee, claimed that Sanket Bawankule was intoxicated and involved in the accident, but his name was not mentioned in the FIR. He also alleged the car’s number plate was removed after the incident.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) took an aggressive stand on the handling of the case, with Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut slamming deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also heads the state home ministry. “A fair inquiry of the Nagpur accident case is impossible till Fadnavis is home minister. The police force is dancing on the floor of Fadnavis. They skipped the name of Sanket Bawankule in the FIR. If someone from an opposition party was involved in the accident, Fadnavis and Bawankule would have launched a heavy attack on us,” said Raut.

Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson Sushma Andhare, meanwhile, demanded the police to check CCTV footage of the bar where Sanket Bawankule and his friends had allegedly consumed alcohol. She also criticised Congress MLA Thakare for giving a clean chit to Sanket. “Ruling party leaders are trying to save Sanket Bawankule. But it’s beyond my understanding why Congress MLA Vikas Thakare is trying to cover Sanket,” she said.

Reacting to the case, Fadnavis said the law will take its own course. “If anyone is guilty, police will deal with him accordingly,” he said, adding that Chandrashekhar Bawankule was being unnecessarily targeted.