Mumbai: A 27-year-old executive with a private firm allegedly reversed his SUV at high speed to evade a drink-and-drive check on Linking Road in Khar (W) and crashed into a police patrol bike, injuring a constable, in the early hours of Friday.A breathalyzer test on the driver, Chandivli resident Siddharth Mahalingam (27), found the alcohol level at 166.8 mg/100ml, sources said; the legal blood alcohol concentration limit for driving in India is 30mg/100ml of blood.Khar police arrested Mahalingam and slapped him with non -bailable offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Motor Vehicles Act. Mahalingam was driving back home after a party when the incident took place.
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The accident left constable Ashok Borude (44) of Khar police station with 12 stitches on his lower jaw and three on his forehead. Borude’s jaw got stuck in the rear glass of the SUV due to the impact of the crash, police said.Bandra traffic police had set up a nakabandi in front of Rajkumar Jewellers to take action against those driving under the influence of alcohol.On Sunday, Borude told TOI: “I was proceeding towards Santacruz for patrol duty around 2 am, when I noticed the black SUV reversing at high speed. I could not move the 220 cc department bike, which I stopped about 25 m away, and the SUV crashed into me. Despite wearing a helmet, my lower jaw got stuck inside the SUV’s rear glass and I got injured due to glass shrads. Luckily, I did not get hit by other vehicles that came from behind.”Borude, a Kalyan resident, was discharged from hospital after receiving medical assistance and has been advised 10 days’ rest.The police team on checkpoint duty said it was the first time they saw a motorist attempt to flee by driving in reverse at speed despite vehicles approaching from the same direction.Police have booked Mahalingam under BNS sections 110 (attempt to culpable homicide), 125(a) (rash or negligent act that endangers human life or the personal safety of others), 281 (rash or negligent driving or riding on a public way in a manner that endangers human life or is likely to cause hurt or injury), 324(4) (mischief), and under the MV Act sections 184 (dangerous driving) and 185 (driving by a drunk person).Police said the incident occurred barely 11 days after an eight-year-old girl, Reva Pawar, 8, was knocked down in Andheri (W) by a speeding scooterist riding in the wrong direction on July 15. Amboli police arrested the accused, scrap-seller Shabir Yusuf Shaikh, 30, from Ajmer Junction railway station on July 19 and invoked an additional charge of attempt to commit culpable homicide. Reva is undergoing treatment at Cooper Hospital for a skull fracture, and has been advised two months’ complete bed rest.
