04 October,2023 07:17 AM IST | Mumbai | Anurag Kamble
The vehicle that Dilip Chatwani was driving, at the Azad Maidan police station, on Tuesday; (left) the damaged police van. Pics/Atul Kamble
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Three teenage pedestrians were injured after a speeding Tata Tiago driven by an 80-year-old man dashed into them between 7.15 pm and 7.30 pm near Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) on Tuesday. The injured have been identified as Sadam Ansari, 17; Ajay Gupta, 18; and Pravin Gupta, 18. The latter is said to be critically injured while others are in stable condition.
According to preliminary information, the driver, Dilip Chatwani, is a Mahim resident. He was crossing the CSMT junction from the General Post Office road towards the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters. When he crossed the signal, he accelerated and dashed into a BEST bus, collided into pedestrians standing in front of McDonald's and then crashed into a police van.
"Chatwani is a metal trader who has a shop at Masjid Bunder. He was driving home. Prima facie, the accused was not in an inebriated state," said a police source. "We were crossing the road via the zebra crossing when suddenly the car zoomed towards us. I didn't get hurt but three of my friends were injured," said Vijay Rajbhar 18, a Reay Road resident.
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All the injured individuals reside in the same vicinity and practice football twice a week. At the time of the incident, they were heading home after practising at the YMCA ground. The youths play for Golar Indian Football Academy. "I didn't understand what happened, I was taken to the hospital by cops, where doctors checked me and found no injuries," Rajbhar said.
Vijay Rajbhar, the 18-year-old who escaped without injury
The police have nabbed Chatwani and taken him for a medical examination. "The driver was speeding and got confused. The victims were rushed to St George's Hospital and are in the ICU," said DCP (Zone 1) Dr Pravin Mundhe. Pravin Gupta's father, Shivjanam, 45, said, "They had gone to south Mumbai to play football. The Sewri police informed us about the incident." Harish Golan, a relative of Vijay said, "Strict action must be taken against the octogenarian."
