Another tragic incident of a hit-and-run case has come to light from the Mundhwa area of Pune where a 21-year-old food delivery executive identified as Rauf Akbar Shaikh was allegedly hit by a speeding Audi car bearing registration number MH 12 NE 4464. The accused car driver identified as Ayush Pradeep Tayal (age, 34, resident of Hadapsar) fled from the scene after hitting almost three two-wheelers with his speeding car. Rauf was immediately rushed to the nearby Noble Hospital however he was declared dead on arrival by the doctors.
As per the eyewitness accounts, the white colour Audi sedan was speeding from the ABC Farm chowk in Koregaon Park towards Magarpatta city, while the car approached the Google office in Mundhwa initially it hit a two-wheeler ridden by a female who was thrown at he side of the road due to the impact.
Eyewitness Tushar Eknath Ghasge while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “ I was returning from the Chaturshringi temple when I saw a speeding Audi car ramming into two-wheelers it came from the West In hotel road and first hit a two-wheeler which ridden by a lady who thrown aside and later the car ran over a young boy who was on his scooter on the road near Google office in Mundhwa. The car driver did not stop and fled towards the Magarpatta city road. We saw that there were three people present in the car and a lady was smoking a cigarette on the front seat. By the way of his driving, I can say that he was under the influence of alcohol.”
Initial investigations revealed that the accused was an employee of a private company at Ranjangaon MIDC claimed the police.
Deputy Commissioner of Police R Raja, while talking to LokmatTimes.com, said, “ We have detained the accused from his house in Hadapsar. The medical examination of the accused is underway, and after that, we can confirm whether the car was driven under the influence of alcohol. A case has been registered, and further probe is underway.”
Mazahar Shaikh who is the cousin brother of the deceased Rauf Shaikh while talking to LokmatTimes.com said, “We have lost a hard-working family member. He was a major earning member of the family. We lost his life for no fault of his. We demand that the police should take strict action and punish the culprits.”
While the incident has attracted major public outrage after the Porsche Car accident in Kalyaninagar, the Koregaon Park, Kalyaninagar and Mundhwa neighbourhoods are a hub of nightclubs and pubs in Pune where people flock to visit the clubs. However, the safety of the commuters is compromised as the patrons who visit the clubs are found to be drunk driving in most of the cases which leads to major mishaps where innocent lives are lost. The citizens are demanding to take strict action against such pubs and people who drive under the influence of alcohol.