Asked to halt at Marine Drive, college student driving Mercedes knocks down cop, jawan, flees

MUMBAI: A 21-year-old college student from Vasai has been arrested for knocking down a policeman and a Maharashtra Security Force (MSF) jawan with his car (Mercedes) while speeding through a checkpoint in Marine Drive early on Sunday. The policeman suffered head injuries and a hip fracture. The student made no attempt to stop and help the security personnel.

Police later tracked down the student, Nihal Arjun Solanki, to his home with the help of a piece of the car’s licence plate that had broken off at the site. Charges of attempt to murder, act endangering life or personal safety of others and mischief under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) as well as dangerous driving under Motor Vehicles Act have been invoked against him. He has been remanded in police custody till May 28. Police are ascertaining if he was drunk at the time.

Police said Solanki, who is pursuing computer science, decided to take a joyride to Marine Drive in the early hours of Sunday with three friends. A police source said a routine, three-layer nakabandi was set up on the Marine Drive stretch near Garware Chowk. “Three personnel from Marine Drive police station and two MSF jawans were deployed at the site.”

Around 5.30am, Solanki’s car approached the checkpoint and security personnel gestured to him to halt. “Instead of stopping, the driver hit the accelerator, knocking down assistant sub-inspector Krishnkant Mishra (56) and MSF jawan Ajay Rathor (24). Both fell on the road and the driver fled from the spot,” said the source.

Mishra sustained injuries to the head and a fracture to the hip and is undergoing treatment at Bombay Hospital. Rathor was discharged after treatment at GT Hospital.

Through the broken piece of the licence plate, police found that a Lonavla resident had sold the car to Solanki’s father, but he was yet to complete the process of transferring the ownership in Solanki’s name. The previous owner said he was in Tirupati. “We got the phone number of Solanki’s father and reached his residence in Vasai the same day. Solanki was at home and he was taken into custody,” said a police official. “We seized the car and brought it to the police station for examination by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) experts.’’ Another police officer said Solanki had a valid driving licence.