Friends stunned after case filed against biker

Friends of the Badlapur doctor Mahesh Patil, against whom a case was registered after his mother died in a road accident on Friday, are stunned.

Friends of the Badlapur doctor Mahesh Patil, against whom a case was registered after his mother died in a road accident on Friday, are stunned.

Latika Patil, 64, fell off Mahesh’s motorcycle on Friday, when they were going from their Badlapur home to his sister’s house in Navi Mumbai.

As they were crossing a potholed stretch on the Ambernath-Badlapur Highway, Latika, who was riding pillion, was thrown off the motorcycle.

Sakharam Mhatre, a local who witnessed the incident, said: “Patil did not realise that his mother had fallen off when his bike bounced on a pothole. Perhaps, that’s because she was a frail woman. We shouted out to him, following which he halted the bike and came back.” Latika sustained injuries to her head. She was rushed to a hospital, but was declared dead.

The Manpada police registered a case of rash driving and causing death due to negligence against Mahesh.

The Badlapur home of the Patils was locked when HT paid a visit. Mahesh Patil and his two sisters had gone to their native place in Jalgaon to conduct the final rites for Latika, as most of their relatives stay there. According to neighbours and friends, Patil was initiated into academics very early on by his father who was a BMC school teacher.“Mahesh was very happy after finishing his MBBS. He wanted to study further, so he moved into his elder sister’s house at Navi Mumbai as it was close to the hospital where he was practising and studying. Since Friday, he was devastated, and did not talk to any of us”, said Shekhar Khunte, a neighbour of the Patils. Patil used to stay during the week with his sister, and spent the weekends at Badlapur with his mother. Another friend, who was not aware that a case had been registered against Patil, was furious. “Mahesh lost his mother because of the potholes and we were expecting that the police would take action against those responsible for maintaining the road. How can they register a case against Mahesh and not take any action against the road authorities? It defies all logic.”