Speeding Mercedes kills 21-year-old man in Thane hit-and-run

The Naupada police are looking for the driver of the luxury car, Abhijeet Sureshbabu Nair, who fled the scene after the accident

THANE: A 21-year-old man was killed after a speeding Mercedes rammed into his scooter from behind in Thane in the early hours of Monday. The Naupada police are looking for the driver of the luxury car, Abhijeet Sureshbabu Nair, who fled the scene after the accident.

Thane, India - October 21, 2024: The accidents bike is kept at traffic office at Nitine company thane , 21-year-old Darshan Hegde was killed when he was hit by a speeding car near Nitin Company Signal while riding a bike and the driver fled the scene. ,in Thane,in Mumbai, India, on, Monday, October 21, 2024. ( Praful ÊGangurde /HT Photo )

Nair was booked under sections 106(2) (causing death by rash and negligent driving), 281 (rash driving), and 125 (b) (causing grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The victim was identified as Darshan Shashidhar Hegde, a resident of Dnyaneshwar Nagar in Thane. According to the police, Hegde had stepped out to buy food around 1.50 am on Monday after fasting for the entire day on account of Sankashti Chaturthi. He went to the Thane railway station on a scooter to buy food and was returning home via the Mumbai-Nashik highway when a speeding Mercedes crashed into him from behind, the police said, adding that Hegde died on the spot. He was rushed to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Hospital, Kalwa, where he was declared brought dead.

After Hegde didn’t return home for over an hour, his brother Shashank Hegde tried calling him several times, but there was no response. Eventually, the Naupada police called him to inform him about the accident. Shashank Hegde’s employer, Dishit Jagdish Thakkar, who owned the TVS scooter Darshan was riding, filed a complaint with the police, after which a case was registered.

Darshan Hegde was pursuing a BSc course and aspired to study engineering, according to his family. His friend, Chandrakant Maime, said, “We were completely disturbed when we saw him in the hospital. I’ve known him since childhood and witnessed how well he rode. Eyewitnesses said the car was travelling at high speed during the collision. We are demanding the immediate arrest of the accused.”