PANAJI
Over eight hours after a white Mercedes car rammed into six vehicles killing three innocent lives and injuring others, driver Shripad Sinai Sawardekar alias Paresh was arrested on Monday with his alcohol content found to be over three times the permissible limit.
Police higher-ups have confirmed that Paresh, who was returning to Panaji with his wife Meghana and their three underage children, was ‘heavily drunk.’ “The alcohol content was recorded at 94 mg as against the permissible limit of 30 mg,” the officer said.
The driver was arrested around 4 am followed by the local court remanding him to two days of police custody. Paresh thereafter applied for bail, which is expected to come up for a hearing on Tuesday.
The accident that occurred around 7:30 pm on Sunday, August 6, sparked public outcry when locals alleged that the police were initially reluctant to take action against the ‘influential’ couple despite the serious mishap and liquor bottles found in the ill-fated car GA-07-K-7311. There were also allegations that Paresh's wife was behind the wheel, which was dismissed by the police citing witnesses' deposition claiming the man was driving the car.
“The driver was proceeding from Ponda to Panaji. As the vehicle was over-speeding, it veered into the right lane by crossing the central solid line of the road near the Banastari Bridge, and crashed into the oncoming vehicles “ 4 four-wheelers and 2 two-wheelers,” the Mardol police said.
The impact was such that a couple on a bike Suresh Phadte (58 years) and Bhavna (52) died on the spot while another biker Arup Karmarkar (2) also succumbed. Others sustained multiple fractures as they are being treated at GMC. The Phadte couple’s son is a constable with the Goa police.
The accused is booked under sections 279 (rash driving), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others)of Indian Penal Code, and sections 134 (a) (failing to report the matter to the police), 134 (b) (failing to render assistance of the mishap victims) and 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, and Rule 6 of MVR 2017.
