Nutritionist was engrossed in phone call which led to Bandra hit-n-run incident: Police

Nutritionist Megha Rawal allegedly ran over Ansh Gupta, an eight-year-old resident of the Kadeshwar area in Bandra West, around 2.30pm on Sunday while driving an Innova Crysta through St John Baptist Road

MUMBAI: The Bandra metropolitan magistrate court on Monday remanded nutritionist Megha Rawal, arrested for allegedly running over an eight-year-old boy in Bandra on Sunday, to police custody for a day.

Ansh Gupta’s distraught parents said that all they wanted was justice for their only son born 15 years after marriage.

The court also accepted the police’s plea to book her under section 105 (culpable homicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, instead of section 106 (causing death by negligence) which had been invoked while registering the first information report (FIR). This was after the police informed the court that Rawal was allegedly speaking on her mobile phone while driving, leading to the accident, and it was rare for the accused in such cases to be booked under section 105.

Rawal, a resident of Bandra, is a certified health coach, fitness nutritionist and the founder-director of Mezmo Candy, a health-focused confectionery brand launched in 2021. As reported by HT, she allegedly ran over Ansh Gupta, an eight-year-old resident of the Kadeshwar area in Bandra West, around 2.30pm on Sunday while driving an Innova Crysta through St John Baptist Road, which connects to the Mount Mary Church.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Rawal was talking on her phone when her speeding car knocked down Ansh, who was crossing the road. The boy’s family members and eyewitnesses claimed that she was so engrossed in the phone conversation that she did not realise she had run over someone and dragged him for around 10 meters, till bystanders alerted her. Ansh was subsequently rushed to Holy Family hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.

Rawal was not inebriated when the accident occurred, police officers familiar with the case said. “Reagrdless, we have sent her blood for testing and are awaiting the report,” an officer said.

During the hearing on Monday, the police requested Rawal’s custody for five days to complete their investigation, including obtaining her call detail records (CDR), retrieving CCTV footage, questioning witnesses, verifying her driving license and vehicle registration, and conducting a technical inspection of the vehicle involved in the accident via the Regional Transport Office (RTO).

The police said that they would match the CCTV footage with her CDR and phone location to ascertain if any calls were active when the accident occurred. They also said her custody was essential as she could tamper with the evidence.

Defense lawyer Amar Paragonkar, representing Rawal, opposed the remand application, arguing that it was an unfortunate and tragic accident, neither premeditated nor driven by intent to cause harm. He said that Rawal herself had rushed the child to the hospital despite resistance from medical staff over police formalities, remained with the child, and her husband had arrived promptly for assistance.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Ansh’s body was handed over to his parents after completion of the post mortem. His distraught parents said that all they wanted was justice for their only son born 15 years after marriage.

“I have lost my child, my world. How can someone be so careless,” wondered his father Ravindra Gupta, who was at his provisions store on Sunday when he received a call saying Ansh had met with an accident and had been taken to Holy Family hospital.

“When I reached there. It was too late. My son had already gone,” said Gupta. “It was his birthday on September 2 and he was so excited. We were planning for a celebration but now we have to plan for a funeral.”

His mother said the family lived in a rented house and had prioritised their son’s education. “I don’t want her (Rawal’s) apology. I just want justice,” she said.

Neighbours said that Ansh generally did not go near the roadside and Sunday was the first time he had gone out to play after taking his mother’s permission.

“The child was very smart and never gave any trouble to anyone,” a neighbour said, requesting anonymity.