‘Want homicide charge against woman who ran over my mother’

A 22-year-old student has approached the Bombay high court asking that section 304-II of the Indian Penal Code for the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be applied against Aarti Shetty, wife of a city businessman, who, while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, crashed her BMW car into four people, killing his mother in the process.

A 22-year-old student has approached the Bombay high court asking that section 304-II of the Indian Penal Code for the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder be applied against Aarti Shetty, wife of a city businessman, who, while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, crashed her BMW car into four people, killing his mother in the process.

HT Image

Sayyad Ali Raza has also sought transfer of the investigation to the crime branch saying Shetty was closely related to a city MLA and therefore the Mankhurd police were adopting a lenient approach towards her.

In the petition filed through advocate Prakash Wagh, Aarti Shetty was accompanied by two women and they were all so drunk they could not even get out of the vehicle after it crashed into the auto in which his parents and brother were travelling.

The petition states that the incident occurred in the wee hours of November 2, near the Mankhurd octroi check post. While driving under the influence of liquor, Shetty’s BMW crashed into the auto from behind and then into a vehicle next to it. The impact was so severe that the rear half of the auto was completely crushed resulting in severe injuries to all four – Raza’s parents, brother and the auto driver.

They were taken to Rajawadi Hospital, where his mother succumbed to injuries the next day. His father, who has suffered multiple fractures, is still recuperating in hospital. Mankhurd police have booked the woman under sections 279 (rash driving) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the IPC and section 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

He has contended that though the accused has committed a serious offence of driving negligently and rashly under influence of liquor, she was immediately released on bail.

His petition said police ought to have added section 304-II against Shetty after his mother died the next day, but despite his representation to the senior police inspector and complaints to superior police officers, the charge of culpable homicide was not slapped against her.