R-Day revelry turns tragic: Man rams car into tourists on Dahanu beach

Instead of pressing the brake, a Boisar resident, Sanjay Zope (54), pressed the accelerator and slammed his car into a crowd of revellers at the beach.

Republic Day celebrations turned into a tragedy at Chinchani beach in Dahanu after a man rammed his car into a crowd of people gathered at snack stalls on Wednesday. The accident left a 68-year- old woman dead, while 11 injured were admitted to a hospital in Boisar.

The accident left a 68-year- old woman dead, while 11 injured were admitted to a hospital in Boisar. (PTI)

Instead of pressing the brake, a Boisar resident, Sanjay Zope (54), pressed the accelerator and slammed his car into a crowd of revellers at the beach.

“The car dashed against a few food carts and rammed into people who were sitting on the chairs enjoying their snacks,” said API Srikant Koli of Vangaon police station.

As the injured were rushed to a nearby Primary Health Centre (PHC) for treatment, enraged locals went on a rampage and destroyed the car and thrashed the driver as well as his co-passenger.

Among the injured, the condition of Khatoon Nooraluddah Mansoori (68) and her daughter Nasima (45) was serious so they had to be shifted to a Boisar hospital,15 km away. However, the ambulance driver was not available due to the public holiday so a TV journalist, Pravin Babre, who was covering the news, offered to help. After getting permission from the doctor, he drove the ambulance and rushed the two women to a Boisar hospital.

API Koli said that Zope was arrested under Sections 304(a) (causing death by negligence),337,338 (causing hurt) of the IPC and Section 184 of MV Act based on the complaint by Mohammed Imran Mansoori, son of the victim.

“We have seized the car which belongs to Liladhar Ragho Patil and the investigation is ongoing. The accused was used to driving a manual car but was not acquainted with an automatic car (as there is no clutch) and lost control while trying to avoid a biker. Instead of the brake, he pressed the accelerator twice and rammed into a few food carts,” Koli added.