BMW hit-and-run: Mihir Shah’s family fled fearing attack and interrogation | Mumbai News

“We have recorded their statements and are trying to ascertain their exact role. They have claimed that they went into hiding because they were afraid of being attacked by a mob, while the investigators have also arrested them and interrogated them in detail,” said an investigator.

Investigators said Mihir Shah shaved his beard to conceal his identity and avoid being caught. “When he went into hiding, he thought we had his latest photo in which he has a full-grown beard. To mislead us, he shaved his beard because he assumed we would not recognize him,” an official said.

According to Mumbai Police, Mihir Shah, who fled after running over the 45-year-old woman in Worli on Sunday morning, first hid in his girlfriend’s house in Goregaon, from where his elder sister picked him up and dropped him near Thane. Thereafter, Mihir, his sisters and his mother hid in various hotels in Thane, near Nashik and in Murbad.

Hours before the BMW hit-and-run case, police said, Mihir Shah went to a bar in Juhu with a few friends, where he is suspected to have consumed alcohol. After leaving the bar, Mihir drove to Borivali to drop his friends and then headed to Marine Drive with his driver Rajrishi Bidawat for a joyride. “We have learnt that Mihir and his driver left for Marine Drive at around 3.30 am. On the way back, he insisted on driving and subsequently rammed the two-wheeler on Dr Annie Basant Road in Worli,” an official said.

Kaveri Nakhwa, who was travelling with her husband on the two-wheeler, was dragged for over a kilometre as she was trapped between the bumper and tyre of the vehicle and then thrown onto the road. Mihir, police said, swapped seats with Bidawat and later contacted his father. Rajesh Shah allegedly asked his son to flee and instructed Bidawat to take responsibility for the accident.

After Rajesh Shah was arrested for abetting Mihir’s escape, he was released on bail on Monday and Bidawat remained in police custody until July 11.

According to official information, Mihir will be produced in court on Wednesday.