Bangalore hit-and-run case: Man traced, woman missing

The woman who is the prime accused in Monday’s accident wherein a car ran over a labourer and killed him, besides injuring four others, in HRBR Layout, is still absconding.

The man who was in the car with her is helping the police with the probe. Banaswadi traffic police seized the vehicle on Monday. The sports utility vehicle (SUV) is registered with the Indiranagar RTO. This information led the police to the vehicle owner Raghavendra Patel—who owns a petrol bunk at Kottanur—and then to his cousin Ravi, who had borrowed the car on Monday.

The police said a woman, Mahi, was behind the wheels of the SUV. Ravi was with her in the car when the incident occurred. The police said Ravi told them that he and Mahi were under the influence of alcohol. He said he does not know her well and met her at a party at Banaswadi on Monday. There, they decided to go for a drive in the car (Toyota Fortuner, registration number KA03 MQ 1369). He said Mahi was driving the car.

She lost control of the vehicle and ran over the labourer, Nagaraj, 24, sleeping on the footpath. Nagaraj hailed from Kirubagere village, Devadurga taluk, Raichur. His four relatives, Hanumantappa 23, Shivayogi 19, Lakshmana Gouda 23, and Rangappa, 18, were injured.

After the SUV ran over Nagraj, it came to a stop after hitting a building wall, which collapsed owing to the high-speed impact. The injured were shifted to Bowring and Lady Curzon Hospital. They, too, told the police that they saw a woman getting down from the driver’s seat and a man was accompanying her. Ravi told the police that they fled, leaving behind the vehicle.

The police managed to procure the photograph of Mahi with Ravi’s help. The photo was taken by a professional photographer and Ravi led the police team to help them get the pictures, the police said. The police have identified the resort in Banaswadi where Ravi and Mahi met, but are refraining from divulging its name.

The police said Ravi would be accused number two in the case while Mahi would remain accused number one. They said Ravi had not been arrested despite being with Mahi at the time when she ran over the construction worker, because he had not been absconding and had been aiding the police in investigating the case and also in tracking Mahi.