Mumbai: The Vikhroli police have arrested 26-year-old Vishak Harilal Patel, son of a Ghatkopar-based businessman, in connection with a drunk driving case that led to a fatal accident on August 25.
According to the police, the deceased victim, 26-year-old dentist Vibhuti Khatri, was a passenger in the car at the time of the accident. Khatri, along with the accused, identified as Patel, and Patel’s cousin Ishan Patel were returning home from Ghatkopar when the incident occurred. At the time, Patel was reportedly driving the vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.
The car was originally a chauffeur-driven vehicle, but the accused insisted on driving himself despite being intoxicated, ignoring the pleas of his friends to refrain from doing so. After leaving Ghatkopar, the trio first travelled to Powai to drop off Ishan Patel before continuing to drop off Khatri. However, while on the expressway at Vikhroli, Patel's speeding car collided with another vehicle. The impact damaged the left side of the car where Khatri was seated, resulting in critical injuries to her. Locals in the vicinity quickly alerted emergency services, who transported Khatri to a hospital. In contrast, Patel escaped with only minor injuries.
Police stated that blood samples from Patel were collected after an FIR was registered against him, and these samples were sent for chemical analysis. Since all the charges filed against Patel in the FIR were bailable at the time Khatri was alive until August 30 he was not arrested.
“We were waiting for the chemical analysis report to arrive on Saturday. The results indicated that Patel's blood alcohol content was 0.145% per millilitre, significantly higher than the permissible limit of 0.03%. Upon reviewing the reports, we invoked additional stringent sections in the FIR on a supplementary basis, including culpable homicide not amounting to murder and causing death with intent under Section 102 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Patel was arrested on Sunday and is currently in police custody,” said an official.
