Nagpur Audi hit-and-run: Sanket Bawankule and friends didn’t eat beef, ordered booze worth ₹12k, say cops

Police confirmed Sanket Bawankule and friends did not eat beef before their car crash, countering claims by Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut

NAGPUR: The police on Wednesday clarified that Sanket Bawankule, son of Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and his friends did not consume beef at a restobar hours before crashing their Audi into several vehicles in the city on Monday, injuring two people.

Nagpur Audi accident: Maharashtra BJP chief’s son Sanket Bawankule confessed he was in the car, say police

The police’s clarification came hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut claimed that Sanket and his friends ate beef cutlets, among other things, at La Horee Deluxe Bar and Restaurant at Dharampeth before the accident. The bar’s owner, Samir Sharma, then filed a case against Raut at the Sitabuldi police station. He also said he would file a defamation suit against those who spread the rumour that beef cutlets were served to Sanket and his friends at his bar on Sunday night.

Deputy commissioner of police (Zone II) Rahul Madane said, “We have recovered the bill, which clearly shows that no beef was served to them.”

The Sitabuldi police, which is investigating the case, said that Sanket and his friends consumed mutton roast, mutton curry, and chicken tikka, along with some vegetarian items like masala peanuts and fried cashews. They also ordered two liquor bottles worth over ₹12,000, the police added.

Earlier, Raut had claimed that a bill from the bar was found in the Audi belonging to Sanket Bawankule. “The bill includes alcohol, chicken, mutton and beef cutlets. People who teach Hinduism have eaten beef cutlet. Will the BJP teach Hinduism to us?” he said.

The police had earlier arrested Arjun Hawre, 24, who was allegedly driving the car at the time of the accident. He was later released on bail. The blood samples of Hawre and his friend Ronit Chintamwar, 27, were sent for testing to find out whether they were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

The accident has snowballed into a major controversy ahead of the Maharashtra assembly polls, with the Opposition accusing the Mahayuti government, in which the BJP is a constituent, of trying to save one of their senior leader’s kin by blaming the driver for the accident.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and spokesperson Sushma Andhare went to Nagpur on Tuesday and visited the accident spot and the Sitabuldi police station. She met the police station in-charge, Chandrashekhar Chakate, and tried to grill him for not registering an offence against Sanket Bawankule and for not sending his blood sample for testing, according to people in the know.

Later, talking to reporters, Andhare alleged that there was a lot of pressure on Jitendra Sonkamble, who lodged a complaint with the police after his car was hit by Sanket’s car in the early hours of Monday. Sonkamble belongs to a scheduled caste and there is a lot of pressure on him, she said. “I am more concerned about his life. We demand that Sonkamble should be given police protection.”