Mumbai crime branch constable acquitted of ramming car into 3 pedestrians, killing one

Mangesh Chavan was acquitted after the prosecution failed to prove that he was the one driving the car

The metropolitan magistrate court in Esplanade recently acquitted a crime branch official from charges of ramming a car into three pedestrians at Nariman Point in 2014. One person had died in the incident and two, including a child, were seriously injured.

The incident happened on November 15, 2014. (HT)

However Mangesh Chavan, a constable with the Mumbai Crime Branch, was acquitted as the prosecution could not prove it was Chavan who had been driving the car. On November 15, 2014, a car belonging to Mumbai Crime Branch lost control and rammed into pedestrians before crashing into a tree at Nariman Point. Mohammed Shagir Ansari, 45, a hawer died in the incident while two people — Sunil Jaiswal, (then 10), and another hawker Sajid Sayed, (then 30) were seriously injured.

“The prosecution could not provide evidence to connect him (to the crime). Four witnesses were examined, which included an eyewitness, father-in-law of the deceased and Sayed, who was injured. But none of them could identify that Chavan was driving the car,” said Chavan’s lawyer, Prakash Salsingekar.

“Further as per the case of prosecution the person was beaten up before being handed over to police. But Chavan’s medical papers after the arrest did not show any record of assault by a mob. This created doubt in the prosecution’s case,” Salsingekar added.