Almost everyone in Mumbai’s Worli Koliwada’s Tare Galli locality, knows Kaveri Nakhwa as a generous, kind, hardworking woman, who always wore a bright smile. Nakhwa, a Koli (fisherwoman), and her husband, Pradeep Liladhar Nakhwa, 50, had gone to buy fish from the fresh catch at 4.30 a.m. on July 7 from Crawford market’s wholesale market. It was a 25-minute ride from her home.
Kaveri and her husband, who had been married for 25 years and had two adult children, had taken their scooter out to buy a basketful of fish. They were headed back to Worli Koliwada to her regular selling spot. It was about 5:15 a.m.
Kaveri never returned
Mihir Shah, 24, had allegedly been drinking with his friends at a bar in Juhu. The legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25. He allegedly dropped his friends home in a luxury car, then took another one out, and went for a drive with his driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, in the passenger seat.
The police say that Mihir has admitted that he hit the couple, saw their bodies fly up in the air, dragged the woman from anywhere from 100 metres and 1.5 kilometres. Then he swapped seats with his driver, took an auto-rickshaw from Kala Nagar area of Bandra East in Mumbai and went to a friend’s home in Goregaon, say the police. The friend informed his sister who then arrived there and took him to her home in Borivali.
Pradeep says what happened that night is embedded in his head. “I was riding the scooter at 30-40 kilometres per hour. Suddenly, near Ceejay House, our scooter’s taillight was hit at such a speed that within seconds, we were thrown up in the air. We fell on the bonnet of a car, but Kaveri slipped off and fell in front of the car,” remembers Pradeep, who has not been able to sleep since that day. “The visuals, her voice, and the crushing sound of the car is stuck with me forever; I cannot close my eyes and sleep for a minute.”
He says he slipped off on the side, but despite him begging, the man drove over her body, dragging her along. “I tried to run after the car, but he drove away,” he says. He boarded a kaali-peeli (taxi) to reach her, but could not find her body.
Mihir’s father, Rajesh Shah, in whose name the car was registered, was arrested by the Mumbai Police along with the driver, Rajrishi Bidawat on July 7. Rajesh is the deputy leader and the Shiv Sena’s party worker from Palghar district and is known as Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s close aide.
The BMW car that was involved in the accident is parked inside the Worli Police Station premises. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
According to the Mumbai police, he played a crucial role in destroying evidence in the case, in terms of removing the car number plate and political party sticker, as well as delaying his son’s arrest. On July 8, the court magistrate granted bail to Rajesh. His advocates Sudhir Bhardwaj and Ayush Pasbola say he secured a provisional cash bail of ₹15,000.
The Shah family booked a resort in Shahapur in Thane district and reached there in another luxury car along with his mother Meena Shah, sisters Kinjal and Pooja Shah, and two friends of Mihir’s. Police say as his photos were flashed across newspapers and news channels on television, he shaved his beard and cut his hair short. On July 8 late in the evening, Mumbai Police traced Shah’s location to Virar, when his friend turned his mobile phone on for just 15 minutes. He was arrested on July 9.
The children mourn
Worli Koliwada is a fishing village in Mumbai located on the northern tip of Worli island. The residents settled here over 500 years ago and are considered the original inhabitants of Mumbai. Kolis are the indigenous seafaring community who traditionally fish in the nearby waters for their living. In the Koli community, women are the chief decision-makers in the family. Many of their husbands wake up 2 a.m. to go to sea to catch fish; the wives sell the fresh catch in the market.
At home, Kaveri’s daughter, Amruta, 24, says, “She would have turned 45 on August 19. We had plans to surprise her with presents and celebrate her birthday with all her loved ones.” Yash, her son, 21, remains in shock, does not speak to anyone, and has confined himself in a room. Kaveri’s photo has been placed in one corner of the living room floor, with a lamp and garland and fruits on a plate.
Refuting media reports and the police statement that Kaveri was dragged for 100 meters or 1.5 km, Pradeep says, “The distance from Ceejay House to Sea Link is 10.9 km and it takes at least 20 minutes to drive there.” The taxi driver suggested they go to the police station, he says. “I informed the Worli Police Station and within 15 minutes the control room said that a woman’s body was found at the Sea Link.”
The same day, the police had taken him back to the scene of death for an initial investigation. “The fish and lobsters were still scattered around, some crushed by moving vehicles. We could not find her mangalsutra, bangles, not even her clothes. The car dragged her at such a speed that when she was found all bruised, there was nothing on her body,” he remembers.
The police inspector on duty that day had not spoken to his mother for two years. After he saw Kaveri’s body, he cried. “I called my mother. Kaveri could have been anyone’s mother,” he says.
Relatives and neighbours gather every day at the Nakhwa house expressing grief and anger. They are planning to stage a candle march when the rain subsidizes slightly. They are also discussing staging a protest in front of the Worli Police if they do not get justice in the case.
Kaveri Nakhwa’s husband Pradeep Nakhwa at his residence in Worli Koliwada. | Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini
Soon, politicians arrive
The day of the incident, amidst heavy security Maharashtra School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar entered the narrow lanes of Koliwada. With an umbrella held for him, the minister spent half an hour with the Nakhwa family, asking them to have faith in the judiciary and assuring them that the culprit will be given the strictest punishment. So far, over 15 political leaders and men from different parties have visited the family.
“All the politicians visiting us are either offering lawyers or money,” says Pradeep, then unleashing a barrage of questions. “Why should I take their money or lawyer? What is the guarantee they won’t suppress my case however they want? I will sell my house, live on the streets but fight till my last breath until I get justice for my wife. On the day of accident, why did Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis not say a word? Why have they not visited us yet? Will they be quiet if it had happened to their own wife and children? Would they let me go if I had committed such a crime?”
Prominent politicians such as Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aditya Thackeray, Congress MLA Aslam Shaikh, and the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Milind Deora visited the family.
Thackeray had said to the press, “This is not a mere accident. This must be treated like a murder case. They allowed Mihir Shah to be in hiding for 60 hours and allowed him to remove the party symbol from the car and the number plate.” He too had many questions: “What was the political backing? Will the illegal CM have the guts to run a bulldozer on Mihir Rajesh Shah’s home? Whoever is responsible, we will not spare anyone, we will punish everyone,” he said, though it was unclear how he would ensure this.
Shaikh had said to the press, “This is not a government for the common people, but one that supports those who crush common people under their car. The government will have to pay for the pain of the Nakhwa family.” The Maharashtra Assembly elections are later this year.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also criticized the way the case was handled from the beginning and alleged that Rajesh has connections with underworld gangsters. On July 10, CM Shinde sacked Rajesh from the post of deputy leader of the party.
Milind Deora tweeted on X (previously Twitter), “I visited late Kaveri Nakhwa’s family, who was killed in the Worli hit-and-run case, to express my deepest condolences and to assure them of my unwavering support in helping them get justice.”
On July 11, CM Shinde announced financial aid of ₹10 lakh from the CM’s relief fund for the Nakhwa family and said that action will be taken against all the pubs and bars that operate late into the night. “All legal and financial support will be provided to the family of the victim by the State government. I believe the victim’s family is like our family,” the CM had said to the press.
In a short duration of a couple of hours, Pradeep receives two calls, from an NGO in Delhi and an individual in Uttar Pradesh offering financial assistance to the family. “I am getting calls from different parts of India, and I do not even know these people. All are either offering money or legal support. What will I do with the money when the centre of our life, our backbone, is taken away?”
Mumbai sometimes drives dirty
On July 9, the Maharashtra Excise Department suspended the license of the Juhu bar, Vice-Global Tapas Bar, for serving liquor to Mihir. Officials also alleged that Mihir and his friends were served 12 large pegs of whiskey on that day and the bill was ₹18,000. On July 10, the civic body of Mumbai Municipal Corporation demolished unauthorised constructions on the ground floor and terrace of the bar.
On July 16, Mihir was sent to judicial custody for 14 days. His advocates Ayush Pasbola and Shudir Bhardwaj opposed the remand at the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate S. P. Bhosale’s Sewri court, saying it was unnecessary.
Representing the Mumbai police, public prosecutors Ravindra Patil and Bharti Bhosle asked the court to extend his custody as the accused had not revealed important information in the case. “Considering the gravity of the crime, it is important to find out who all harboured him when he went missing after the accident. He has not talked about them yet,” the public prosecutors said.
The defence counsel said that the remand report by the police states they have recorded statements of 27 witnesses.
In 2002, Hindi movie actor, Salman Khan was arrested for running over five homeless people sleeping on the Mumbai pavement. In 2015, he was acquitted due to a lack of evidence. In 2013, a high-end luxury car owned by Reliance Ports, a private company controlled by industrialist Mukesh Ambani, reportedly driven by his older son, Akash, met with an accident, but the driver, Bansilal Joshi, claimed responsibility for it.
Kaveri had dreams
Kaveri’s parents, father Kesari Nath Wadhkar, 77, and mother Bharati Wadhkar, 67, cannot stop crying. “If we do not demand justice for our Kaveri then the rich who live without fear of law and order, will be encouraged to repeat it with someone else tomorrow,” Bharati says. Kaveri has two sisters, and one, Rina Dabri, remembers her as someone who would call the entire family every day over the phone.
“Her dreams were very small, just like any lower-income class family. She would have been happy even with a temporary job for her children. When our children started to earn, she was telling me one day that our bad days are over. From the scooter to the renovation of our house and this air-conditioner, everything was bought by her small savings,” Pradeep shares, in their 400 square foot home.
Kaveri was loved by her daily customers who bought fish from her. A family they were supplying fish to in Dubai flew down when heard about the accident. “There is so much support only because of the women she was,” says her father.
Pradeep remembers how Kaveri kept a stock of bajra to feed the birds on their veranda. “Every day, at least 70 birds would show up. Now, some birds won’t eat when we try and feed them,” says Pradeep.
Published - July 20, 2024 02:56 am IST
