13-year-old killed after being hit by tempo in Mumbai: Vehicle owner held, driver still at large

The Malwani police placed the owner, Pawan Tiwari, under arrest late on Wednesday

Three days after a 13-year-old girl student was killed and three other children were injured after being hit by a tempo in Malwani, the vehicle owner has been arrested. However, the tempo driver is still at large.

Muskan Memon

The Malwani police placed the owner, Pawan Tiwari, under arrest late on Wednesday after learning that the driver, Pappu Pandey, had a license to drive only light motor vehicles. They said Tiwari knew that Pandey did not have a driving license for heavy vehicles.

The tempo owner was being questioned by the police after the vehicle was seized on Tuesday morning following the incident. He was produced before a court that released him on bail.

The crash took place when the girl, Muskan Memon, was walking along the Marve Road around 8 am with her three friends Neha Newati,13, Kamal Newati, 12 and Bhupendra Newati, 9. A speeding tempo knocked down the children from behind and crashed into an unoccupied stationary autorickshaw. The tempo and the auto rolled into a dry creek, providing an opportunity to the driver to slink off.

Memon died during treatment, while the three siblings were injured in the crash.

In a report on Thursday, HT also highlighted how Marve Road lacks basic amenities such as footpaths and a divider. Prem Newati, father of the injured children, also demanded a speed breaker along the stretch to slow down speeding vehicles.

The Malwani police have registered a case of culpable homicide, rash driving and causing hurt against Pandey, while Tiwari has been booked and arrested for common intention.