Mumbai: A court on Monday gave police one-day custody of nutritionist Megha Rawal, who was arrested for killing an eight-year-old boy,
Ansh Gupta, with her SUV in Bandra the previous day. Bandra police had sought her custody for five days to obtain CCTV footage and her call data records, verify her driving licence and vehicle documents, question witnesses, and have the SUV inspected by RTO.
While acknowledging that invoking Section 105 of BNS (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) in a case of alleged distracted driving was rare, police told the court that Rawal failed to take reasonable care despite knowing that her alleged actions could cause death. They also cited the need to prevent possible destruction of evidence or pressure on witnesses.
Her lawyer, Amar Paragonkar, opposed the plea for remand. He said invoking the stringent Section 105 would set a “wrong trend”. “This is a case of an unfortunate and tragic accident. It is neither premeditated nor driven by any intent to cause harm. She rushed the child to the hospital despite resistance from medical staff due to potential police formalities, she remained with the child... Her husband arrived promptly to assist. Section 105 is a grave offence requiring strict scrutiny, and the essential ingredients of intent or knowledge required to invoke it are entirely absent here.”
A police officer said they are in the process of retrieving CCTV footage of the accident spot to confirm whether Rawal was indeed talking on her phone while driving.
