Mumbai, Sep 21: The driver of the high-end car involved in the fatal Mumbai Coastal Road accident was allegedly driving rashly and negligently, resulting in his death as well as two other vehicle occupants, while another person sustained grievous injuries and remains in critical condition, police said on Monday.

An FIR was registered earlier in the day at Tardeo Police Station in connection with the fatal car crash on Mumbai’s Coastal Road. The accident took place between around 5 a.m. and 5.20 a.m. on Sunday, when a black high-end car travelling northbound from Marine Drive towards Haji Ali allegedly lost control while being driven at high speed near Lotus Jetty.

According to the FIR, the car crashed through a barrier and plunged from the flyover into an under-construction area below, leading to the deaths of three of the four occupants. The severity of the accident was evident from the extent of the damage to the car, which tore through the signboard hanging from the bridge. The roof of the car was pushed inwards, the windshield was shattered, and the bonnet was completely destroyed.

The four youths travelling in the car have been identified as Shanay Gujjar, 21, Dhairya Darshan Seth, 17, Aditya Jakasania, around 18-19, and Aditya Kalpeshwar Oswal, in his early 20s.

Police said Gujjar was found in the driver’s seat after the accident. The FIR alleges that he was driving the vehicle in a rash and negligent manner, resulting in the deaths of himself, Seth, and Jakasania, who were seated in the rear of the car.

The fourth occupant, Oswal, sustained grievous injuries in the crash. He was taken to Nair Hospital along with the other occupants for treatment.

Gujjar, Seth, and Jakasania were declared brought dead at the hospital, while Oswal continues to undergo treatment for his injuries.

During the investigation, police recovered four mobile phones from the accident site, including three iPhones and one OnePlus phone. A Coach New York wallet was also recovered, containing a Rs 100 currency note and the Aadhaar card of Jakasania.

Police have registered offences under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act along with relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections relating to rash driving and causing death by negligence.

Pune Sep 21: A social media influencer was forced to prostrate in front of Raj Thackeray’s photograph for allegedly mocking Raj Thackeray in one of his reels.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena workers captured the influencer, Mahesh Mote, and forced him to prostrate before a photograph of Raj Thackeray with slippers on his head and black ink smeared on his face. He was recorded while he apologized on camera in the same position while doing sit-ups.

The video showed tears flowing down Mote’s cheeks while the latter apologising to Raj Thackeray and the MNS workers for alleged insult and also pleading before them to be forgiven and let off.

“I inadvertently said something wrong about Raj Saheb, and I also mistakenly spoke inappropriately about Shubham Dada and other MNS office-bearers. Today, I deeply regret my mistake. Because of this reel, I have found myself in this predicament. I sincerely apologise to the MNS party and to all of you,” Mote pleaded, with wet eyes.

According to reports, a sub-divisional president of Hardaspur Assembly constituency, Shubham Jagdale alleged that the influencer used abusive and offensive language against MNS chief Raj Thackeray in a video posted about 15 days ago.

Previously, the influencer was in Keralam but as soon as he returned to Pune, MNS workers got information and brought him to an MNS Public relations’ office, where the apology video was recorded.

Jagdale claimed that Mote was given “mahaprasad”, meaning that the latter was treated roughly. Boasting about the incident, the MNS worker said that anyone who would try to tarnish Raj Thackeray’s image would meet a similar fate.

“We brought him to our office and made him lie down before a portrait of the respected Raj Saheb Thackeray and demanded an apology,” a MNS leader was heard saying.

In further boasting, he stated, “In true MNS style, we gave him a fitting reply in our own language – something you might even call ‘Mahaprasad’. I believe that if anyone makes such remarks against Raj Saheb Thackeray, MNS will respond in exactly this manner.”

Mumbai, Sep 21: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday strongly criticised the handling of protests at IIT Bombay following the death of a second-year student, describing the reported sacking of professors as a “band-aid solution”.

Chaturvedi said the student’s death was a tragic reminder that premier institutions such as the IITs need to urgently examine the overall campus environment and address concerns related to student mental health.

Taking to X, Chaturvedi said, “While the death of the IIT Bombay student is extremely unfortunate and yet another reminder that these premier institutions need to work on the campus environment and mental health but to sack the professors to end the protests is just a band-aid solution to a problem that needs surgery.”

“Also, shifting the blame on the professors who were doing their job of reporting copying during an exam and making it about caste discrimination is a sad outcome,” she added.

The second-year student was found dead on the IIT Bombay campus in Powai on September 18. The incident reportedly occurred after he was caught using a mobile phone during an examination by the institute authorities. His death a few hours after the incident triggered intense protests by students on the Powai campus.

The deceased student was identified as Sahil Wakode, a resident of Maharashtra’s Yavatmal district, who was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering at IIT Bombay.

Following the student’s death and the subsequent protests, a case was registered against his teacher, Satyanarayan Dalla, Mumbai Police said on Saturday.

According to officials, a complaint was also filed against faculty members, senior officials and other authorities of IIT Bombay under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, as well as the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The student’s death led to intense demonstrations at the gates of the IIT Bombay campus, as protesting students raised concerns over the circumstances surrounding the incident and the institute’s response.

The protesters also put forward a list of 18 demands, which included the resignation of key administrative officials, mandatory mental health workshops for faculty members and the immediate sacking of the professors allegedly involved in the incident.