2 devotees returning from Siddhivinayak killed in mishap

The deceased have been identified as Pankaj Shah (44) and Vinod Kavayya (45) of Malad,while car driver Joy Mendonca (23),a disc jockey,has been arrested.

Shivaji Park police said the accident occurred at around 2.30 am on Veer Savarkar Road.

“Shah and Kavayya were going home after participating in seva at Siddhivinayak Temple. Mendonca,who was going to the temple,lost control and hit the divider. The car spun and landed in the opposite lane colliding with the bike and throwing both riders off it. Mendonca abandoned his car and fled,” said senior inspector Suresh Unawane,Shivaji Park police station.

Two Shivaji Park police constables patrolling the road to prevent chain-snatchers from targeting women going to the temple barefoot Monday night rushed the duo lying by the roadside to Hinduja Hospital in Mahim,where they were declared dead before admission. The bodies were later taken to Sion Hospital for post-mortem.

“We obtained the address of the Honda City owner and sent a team to his house in Khardanda. Inquiries revealed Joy,his brother,was driving the car without licence. He was arrested and charged with causing death due to rash and negligent driving,” Unawane said.

Mendonca was produced before court and remanded in police custody for a day. Police said he was subjected to a medical test to check if he was drunk.

1 killed,4 injured as car hits divider

AN 18-year-old man was killed and four persons were seriously injured when their speeding Toyota Corolla rammed a divider at Bandra Kurla Complex on Tuesday. Prima facie,police have ruled out drink driving. The accident took place around 6.30 am when the deceased,Sayyad Ali Amar Ali Shaikh, and his friends,who left from Kalanagar in Bandra East,were speeding at BKC while heading to their residence in Kurla. The driver lost control over the vehicle. BKC police identified the injured as Rahim Khan,Qureshi Abdul Hamid Ibrahim,Irshad Usuf Ansari and Mauzib Shaikh,all aged between 20 and 25 years.