Mumbai medico Dr Anahita Pandole - who was driving the Mercedes Benz car when it met with an accident that left tycoon Cyrus Mistry and her brother-in-law Jehangir Pundole dead - was discharged from a private hospital here on Thursday.
Pandole a habitual "speedster", spent 108 days in hospital
Pandole, 55, spent 108 days at the Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital after she suffered serious injuries, along with her husband Darius Pandole, in the September 4 car crash over the bridge on the Surya River in Palghar district.
She returned home around a week after Kasa police station in Palghar finalised its charge sheet in the accident case even as the probe revealed that Pandole was a habitual "speedster".
The Palghar police will file the charge sheet in a district court after completing formalities like her arrest and recording her statement soon, officials indicated.
Pandole eyes 2 year jail term if convicted
Pandole, a Mumbai resident, has been charged under Indian Penal Code Section 304(A), 279, 337 and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. If convicted, she can face at least two years in jail.
The police probe so far has revealed that the Mercedes Benz car, registered in the name of JM Financials, of which her husband Darius Pandole is a director -- was involved in several traffic rules violations in the past couple of years, Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil had earlier told IANS.
The investigators have come across at least seven instances of over-speeding involving Pandole that were captured on speed cameras and traffic e-challans slapped on her since 2020.
Pandole was allegedly driving the car with Mistry in it
The fresh evidence unearthed so far is now made a part of the charge sheet since it's the same car that was involved in the Palghar accident, which took place when Mistry and the Pandole trio were returning from Udvada in south Gujarat to Mumbai on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway.
The Shapoorji Pallonji Group scion, Mistry, 54 -- a former Tata Sons Chairman -- and his childhood friend Jehangir Pandole, were killed instantly when the car rammed into a railing of the bridge on the Surya River that fateful Sunday, stunning the corporate world.
Anahita Pandole, who was allegedly driving the vehicle at a high speed and her husband Darius Pandole sitting beside her, suffered grave injuries in the road crash and after initial treatment at a Vapi hospital, the couple was shifted to Mumbai.
While Darius Pandole was discharged in late October after 54 days' treatment, Anahita Pandole has been sent home now, a hospital official told IANS.
Sir HNRF Hospital issues statement
"After weeks of intensive care, multiple surgeries, medical management, Dr. Anahita Pandole is finally on the path of recovery, and underwent extensive rehab to attain functional independence, with experience and expertise backed by infrastructure and quick decision-making during her treatment," said an official of the Sir HNRF Hospital.
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