Vasai biker crash: 9 days after deadly accident, no FIR yet

CCTV footage of Aniket Coutinho thrown into the air from the impact

A speeding car sent a motorcyclist flying 10 feet into the air after a head-on collision in Vasai last week, but the cops are yet to register an FIR for the accident. Meanwhile, the number plates of the car - which were intact and legible soon after the accident - have now gone missing. The Vasai Gaon police station sprung into action only minutes after mid-day published an online update on Friday, going through the medical files of the victim and requesting his father to approach the police station. The cops also called in the car driver, Abin Anthony, an interior designer, who is a native of Chulna village, Vasai.

The horrifying accident took place around 10 pm on February 15. The distressing footage showed Aniket Coutinho, 29, flipping three full circles and up to 10 feet high in the air before crashing onto the road, where he rotated 360° before lying motionless. "It was a horrible sight!" recalled an eyewitness while speaking to mid-day.

The car had a full number plate in this picture taken soon after the accident. Pic/Hanef Patel

The accident spot is a dimly lit area where the Vasai Virar City Municipal Corporation (VVCMC) has not installed street lamps, said Aniket's relative Godson Dias. "Above all, the roads have been encroached upon by the shopkeepers, making them even narrower and difficult for users to pass by," Dias told mid-day.

According to Dias, most cars and bikes use Chinese headlamps which often blind road users because of their brightness. "Both, the car driver as well as Aniket's bike, had the same Chinese headlamps which might have caused them to lose control, resulting in the accident," he said.

The bike Aniket Coutinho was riding. Pic/Hanif Patel

Dias also raised questions as to how the number plates of the car, which were intact after the accident, had got damaged and were now partially missing. "Who damaged it? Are cops trying to protect the car driver?" Dias wondered.

Senior Police Inspector Ranjeet Andhale from Vasai Gaon police station, said, "It is not yet clear who was at fault. That's why we did not register an FIR. But the accident was reported at the police station after Aniket's father submitted a complaint. He seems to be speeding and had overtaken two vehicles before colliding head-on with the car."

Aniket Coutinho; (right) X-ray showing fractured bone

"After mid-day's (online) story, we called Aniket's father. And we are taking legal opinions to ascertain who was at fault," Andhale told mid-day.
Aniket, who runs a small garage in Vasai, has been battling for life with multiple fractures at a private hospital in Mira Road. "There were three occupants including a woman in the car," said a policeman.

Dias said, "Aniket was returning home from his gym when the accident took place. His friend identified him lying motionless on the road and informed us. We rushed to the spot. The impact of the accident was so severe that the car's airbag got inflated."

Aniket in hospital, in an unconscious state. Pics/Hanif Patel

"Aniket was rushed to D M Petit hospital and later rushed to a private hospital in Mira Road where he is recuperating," added Dias, who suspected that the car driver might have been intoxicated. "I had doubts, so I took him to the same hospital where his blood samples were collected and sent to the Directorate of Forensic Science Laboratory, Kalina. I am not sure if the report is out. But it is wrong to say that the motorcycle was at fault because the roads are narrow… there are no street lamps and no divider and all these things confuse road users."

Meanwhile, a local resident, Ram Iyer said, "I wonder why the VVCMC does not care about the road conditions. The Bangli Road, where the accident took place, has no street lights. Road users have to largely depend on their headlamps or light coming from shops along the road. Moreover, cattle often run across the road and at times we have to stop in the middle to let them pass. I had a narrow escape a few weeks ago, as a speeding four-wheeler rammed my car from the rear when I had stopped to let cattle pass. The situation is alarming as civic authorities are doing nothing to change it."

Aniket's sister told mid-day that his legs and shoulder had been badly damaged. "He has got multiple fractures on his legs and shoulder. He is still unconscious," she said. Meanwhile, friends and relatives of the cash-strapped Coutinho family have been crowdfunding to meet the costs of his expensive treatment.

10 feet
Height Aniket was hurled up to before crashing onto road