BMW hit-and-run: Victim met with another accident in 1986 near same Munirka spot
On Sunday night at around 10.30pm, a speeding BMW sedan smashed into Shau under the Munirka flyover at the Ring Road-Nelson Mandela Road intersection in south Delhi.
Around 36 years ago, Bashu Dev Shau (57) was hit by a two-wheeler in Munirka and was left bed-ridden for five years, losing his job as a cook at the British high commission. But rather than moving back to his village in West Bengal, after regaining mobility, Shau sold vegetables on a handcart to make ends meet. His aim in life was to provide a better education for his daughter Manisha -- he was certain that she would get more opportunities in Delhi.
Shau succeeded in his goal of educating Manisha -- today she has completed her B.Ed. But he could not see her get a job as a teacher.
Also read: Delhi records its cleanest air day in over three months
On Sunday night at around 10.30pm, a speeding BMW sedan smashed into Shau under the Munirka flyover at the Ring Road-Nelson Mandela Road intersection in south Delhi. According to an eyewitness, the car stopped for a second before speeding away. Shau was barely 100m away from his rented accommodation in Munirka village, where he stayed with his wife Roma (54) and daughter Manisha (28).
Police and people known to Shau rushed him to hospital, where he was declared brought dead. “Shau had suffered multiple injuries in head and other parts of the body and that proved fatal for him,” said an officer investigating the case.
A grief-struck Manisha said, “My father was a fighter. In 1986, when I was not even born, his legs were fractured after a scooter hit him in the Munirka area, leaving him bed-ridden for five years. Before the accident, he worked as a cook at the British high commission. The high commission helped with his medical treatment but he lost the job. My father did not give up. He bounced back and started selling vegetables.”
According to Roma, despite his meagre earnings, Shau ensured that Manisha completed her education. “My husband earned around ₹14,000 a month by selling vegetables. We paid ₹8,000 as rent and ₹3,000- 4,000 on food as well as household expenses. The remaining money was spent on Manisha’s education. Seeing her becoming a teacher and independent was all that my husband always aspired for. But now with him gone, our future is uncertain,” she said.
A local tea seller named Mohan, who witnessed the accident, informed the family. “The impact of the hit was such that Shau was thrown nearly 20 feet from the place where the BMW car had hit him and the cart. The car had halted for a few seconds and then sped away, leaving Shau to die,” said Mohan.
Also read: Republic Day 2023: Delhi Police's advisory on routes to avoid, alternate routes
On Tuesday, police arrested Shivang Sharma (31), who was driving his father HC Sharma’s car when he smashed into Shau. Officers probing the case said they identified the car through the broken number plate found at the scene of the accident, and after tracing it, found it parked at its owner’s house.
Officers said Sharma was with two friends and a driver when the accident occurred.
Deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Manoj C said Sharma was booked for rash and negligent driving causing death, a case regarding which was registered under sections 279 and 304A of the Indian Penal Code at the Krishangarh police station.
According to DCP, police initially detained the driver after he claimed that he was behind the wheel when the accident occurred. But police later learned that it was actually Sharma who was behind the wheel, and the driver was acting on the instructions of his employer -- Sharma’s father -- who wanted to mislead the police and shield his son.
“We found contradictions in the driver’s statement and grilled him. The car’s owner and Shivang were also apprehended for questioning and to ascertain who was actually driving the car. During interrogation, the driver confirmed that Shivang was driving the vehicle while he was seated in the rear seat,” the DCP said.
A senior officer associated with the case said, “Shivang told us that he could not see the vendor on the road. However, we believe that he was driving at a high speed and that led to the accident. The car’s mechanical inspection has been done by the experts from the forensic science laboratory to ascertain the exact speed of the car.”