Friends of accused to be witnesses

Ahmedabad: A week after a woman on a footpath was run over in a hit-and-run accident near Shivranjani Crossroads, police have made three friends of the accused, Parv Shah, witnesses in the case. A home guard jawan will be another witness.

The home guard jawan was allegedly chasing Parv in a car being driven by Dheer Patel of Ashram Road. Parv’s three friends have been identified as Rishabh Shah and Divya Shah of Mithakhali; and Parth Shah of Paldi. The three were travelling with Parv in his car when he ran over four footpath-dwellers.

The sub-inspector in charge of N Division traffic police, B B Vaghela, said: “We have recorded the statements of Parv’s friends before a magistrate.” Vaghela added: “Home guard jawan Parbat Jethalia who chased Parv that night has been included as a witness.”

Vaghela said that city traffic police have written to the DGP home guards, Gujarat, seeking a departmental inquiry against the jawan for chasing the car.

“He was not on duty the night the accident occurred,” Vaghela said. “He was allegedly chasing Parv’s car from Thaltej Crossroads. When he saw that Parv had run over four footpath-dwellers, Jethalia fled from the scene.”

Vaghela said that Jethalia has told traffic cops that he was scared after seeing a huge crowd beating Parv’s friends and decided to flee.

Cops have been struggling to get CCTV footage of the accident as one of the cameras at Shivranjani Crossroads has not been functional for many days, said a police officer. That camera could have offered crucial insights into the events.