Friends’ night out leaves 1 dead, 4 injured in Mumbai

One person was killed and four others were seriously injured when the Maruti Swift car they were traveling in met with an accident on Veer Savarkar Road at Shivaji Park in the wee hours of Friday. The deceased has been identified as Rohit Khot, 28. He was at the wheels. The injured are Ravikant Singh, 49, Arun Reddy, 35, Alok Goldas, and Rohit’s elder brother Gaurav, 35. They are being treated at Sion Hospital.

“Reddy is in a critical condition and is in the ICU at Sion Hospital,” said senior police inspector Suresh Unawane of Shivaji Park police station. The police are awaiting the post mortem report to ascertain whether Rohit was driving under the influence of alcohol.

However, Singh, a resident of Navi Mumbai, said, “Rohit was a teetotaller. He did not consume alcohol. The car (MH-04-DJ-8256) belongs to me.”  

The Khot brothers and the three others were friends and working for a private finance company in Mumbai. They went out for dinner in a hotel at Marine Drive on Thursday night. After partying late into the night they left the hotel in the early morning hours. The driver lost control over his speeding car and it rammed into the roadside railings. Dragging for about 300 metres, it brushed a tree and then hit an electric pole. The vehicle then ricocheted off and damaged a milk kiosk settling on top of it.   

On their return journey, the friends decided to drop the Khot brothers home in Kamgar Park on  Gokhale Road at Dadar (West).

While Reddy was sitting in front, Gaurav, Singh and Goldas were sitting behind. Rohit lost control over the car between the Catering College and Siddhivinayak Temple. 

Hearing the screeches of the vehicle and a bang, a resident of a nearby building contacted the police. A police mobile van from Shivaji Park rushed to the spot. All the occupants of the car were trapped inside. They were pulled out in an unconscious state. Rohit was declared dead before admission at the hospital, said Unawane. 

“Rohit was driving at a break-neck speed of about 100km per hour. We have registered a case under Sections 304 A (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) and 427 (mischief causing damage),” said Unawane.