Mumbai: A sessions court on Tuesday convicted a 33-year-old truck driver for the murder of a Bhiwandi businessman and the attempted murder of a toll plaza employee in 2023 following an argument over rash driving and sentenced him to life imprisonment.The crime was captured on the Mulund toll plaza’s CCTV cameras, providing the court with “clear, cogent” evidence of the intentional nature of the act. Additional sessions judge S B Dige said it was “well within the knowledge” of the driver, Noor Shah, that running a person over with the truck could result in death. “…it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had the intention to cause injury.” Complainant Manish Soni, the toll plaza’s manager Mahendra Ghule and its supervisor Nitin Pawar were among 16 witnesses cited by the public prosecutor. Manish, who runs a utensils shop in Bhiwandi, deposed that on May 11, 2023, he was travelling from Mumbai to Bhiwandi with his nephew, Bhavesh Soni. Around 9.50pm, as they neared the Anand Nagar toll plaza in Mulund, a truck driven by Shah overtook them and scratched the car on the driver’s side, causing visible damage. When the truck stopped at the toll plaza, Manish and Bhavesh got out of their car to confront Shah. Bhavesh stood directly in front of the truck and asked Shah to step down and inspect the damage. Manish stood by the truck’s side, while several toll plaza employees gathered. He said despite seeing Bhavesh in his path, Shah uttered a threat, “Wait, I’ll show you,” and accelerated. While Ghule managed to move aside, the truck ran over Bhavesh, dragging him for about 20ft, before Shah sped towards Thane. Manish rushed Bhavesh to a hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival owing to severe head injuries. Shah was arrested the next day. During the trial, the defence argued that Shah had been falsely implicated and that the CCTV footage was blurred and unreliable. The judge dismissed these claims, relying on the depositions of eyewitnesses and the technical evidence. “In this CCTV footage, the face of the driver is not visible. But the registration number is clearly visible…. [Toll plaza employees who were witnesses] have stated [the registration number] in their evidence…” The judge said the investigation officer produced a copy of the toll receipt and Shah’s driving licence was on record to show that he was the driver. “…it is proved that the accused was driving the truck at the relevant time,” the judge said. The footage also showed the truck running over Bhavesh while he stood in front of it. While the prosecution sought the death penalty, the judge determined that life imprisonment was a more proportionate response, given Shah’s lack of a prior criminal record. He was also fined Rs 15,000, which has to be given to Manish as compensation.
