Wadala Police assure residents of strict action against rash cabbies

Mumbai: A week after a 34-year-old mother of four was mowed down by a speeding taxi in Wadala, the police held a meeting with residents and assured them that strict action would be taken against any such errant taxi drivers

Mumbai: A week after a 34-year-old mother of four was mowed down by a speeding taxi in Wadala, the police held a meeting with residents and assured them that strict action would be taken against any such errant taxi drivers.

HT Image

The victim, Supriya Kattimanigauder, was a resident of the Salt Pan Road in Antop Hill and used to work as a domestic help. She was on her way home with her four children when the taxi, driven by Nasir Sheikh, ran over her on February 11. Sheikh was subsequently arrested by the police and later released on bail by the court.

On Saturday morning, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Port Zone) Sanjay Latkar, senior police inspector Milind Jadhav, Wadala police station and officers from the Mumbai Traffic Police held a meeting with residents of the area. Local Member of Legislative Assembly Kalidas Kolambar, too, attended the meeting for a short while.

“The Traffic police will take strict actions against any instances of rash driving by share taxis in the area and we have informed them that we will provide any support in terms of manpower that they need. Similar support will also be provided by the Antop Hill police, who have jurisdiction over some parts of the area. The residents outlined all their concerns in detail and we have taken serious note of it,” said Jadhav.

Residents said that following Supriya’s death, a change has been observed in the area, in the sense that share taxis are following the rules, at least over the last week.

“We can only hope that this is not just a temporary knee-jerk reaction. We conveyed to the police today that if simple traffic rules are not followed, it is a question of their efficiency at the end of the day. It should not take a senseless death of an innocent woman for the police to start doing their job,” said Ragul Daga, a resident of Wadala.

Another resident added that they have requested the police to apply stricter sections against Sheikh and that this had been taken into consideration.

Confirming this, Jadhav said, “We have sent Sheikh’s blood samples to the Forensic Sciences Laboratory in Kalina to check for intoxication. If they test positive, action will be taken against him accordingly.”