An 18-year-old model-cum-actress was killed in a tragic car accident at Juhu Circle September, 2012. While police found a badly damaged Honda City crashed against a lamppost at the spot and arrested the driver, in the absence of eyewitness account, it is not yet clear as to what exactly happened.
In his statement to the police, Purvesh Patkar (25), who was at the wheel, has denied hitting the deceased, identified as Neealm Bharadwaj. He told the cops that a Mahindra Xylo, which could have run into the girl, suddenly came in his way, forcing him to take a sharp turn and eventually crash against the lamppost.
Lokhandwala resident Neelam had spent the previous night at her cousin's place in Oshiwara and was going to meet her sister-in-law, a senior pilot with a private airline, at Hotel Orchid when the mishap took place, police said.
Though a lot of people gathered around the injured girl, no one made the effort to take her to a hospital till the cops arrived at the scene. Police took Neelam to Cooper hospital, where she succumbed to the injuries.
Vijay Bhoite, senior inspector of D N Nagar police said, "Malad resident Purvesh was returning home along with his friends Bid Roy and Rahul Purohit from an overnight party when their car crashed at Juhu Circle. Purvesh, who is employed with a private bank, was not drunk at the time of the accident. The car is owned by Rahul."
Neelam, who hailed from Bhopal, is the daughter of a prominent BJP politician from Madhya Pradesh. Her father Babulal Bharadwaj is a former personal assistant of Uma Bharati. A top ranker throughout her school years, Neelam was keen to make a career in modeling and films from childhood.
Early last year, Neelam moved to Mumbai and put up as a paying guest in Lokhandwala. She also managed to bag roles in television serials like Mata ki Chowki and Mahima Shani Dev Ki, said her roommate Neha.
“Neelam was a very sweet girl. Initially, I allowed to stay at my place for just one month. But I was so impressed with behaviour that I permitted her to continue without a security deposit,” said her landlady Sandhya Jaiswal.
Based on circumstantial evidence, police have booked Purvesh under Sections 304A (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 279 (rash and negligent driving). He was produced in a court, which remanded him in judicial custody.
The cops are also trying to access footages from CCTV cameras installed at lampposts at Juhu Circle to ascertain the exact sequence of events that led to Neelam's death.
No comments:
Post a Comment