75-year-old man seriously injured after drunk policeman rams bike into him

Hindustan Times

12-07-2025

MUMBAI: A 75-year-old man was severely injured after a drunk policeman on a two-wheeler allegedly rammed into him at JK Kapoor Chowk in Worli on July 1. While the policeman was booked, the victim's family claimed that he was shown leniency and not booked under relevant sections pertaining to drunk driving and hit-and-runs. The Worli police said that they will look through medical records of the constable and take appropriate action. The victim, Dashrath Ramlakhan Yadav, lives with his family at the Hiraseth Chawl in Worli village, and works as a security officer at The Cliff hotel. (HT PHOTO)
According to the police, the victim, Dashrath Ramlakhan Yadav, lives with his family at the Hiraseth Chawl in Worli village, and works as a security officer at The Cliff hotel. Yadav's son, Ramakant, a civil contractor, who was in Pune when the accident occurred, said that his father was on his way back home when the biker rammed into him. Locals rushed the victim to the nearby MA Podar Hospital in Worli.
Ramakant's son Ravi informed him about the accident, and he rushed to the hospital. 'I was told that the biker was trying to run away after the accident, but he was caught by local youths who knew my father and who brought him to the hospital,' Ramakant said. He added that once the Worli police arrived at the hospital, the accused fled, but local youngsters traced him and caught him. According to his son, the victim suffered serious head injuries due to which he had to get 16 stitches on his head, and was admitted to KEM hospital where he still remains.
The police booked the driver under sections 125(a) (endangering life or personal safety of others) and 281 (rash or negligent driving or riding on a public way) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and sections 134 (A) (not taking all reasonable steps to secure medical attention for the injured), 134 (B) (not reporting the circumstances of the occurrence in case of accident) and 184 (dangerous driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act. According to the police, they later found out that he was a police constable.
Ramakanth said, 'They added no sections for drunk driving nor any sections relating to serious offences despite him being a policeman and having full knowledge that drunk driving can lead to serious accidents. They also added no sections for hit-and-run.'
According to the Worli police, the accused constable was Vasudev Kanojia, a resident of Worli police colony who worked in the local arms unit in Naigaon, Dadar. Senior police inspector of Worli police station, Nilesh Salunkhe Patil, said blood-alcohol test reports of the accused had indicated that he was indeed drunk and the police will add the sections related to drunk driving and update the chargesheet.
Ramakanth said, 'We went to the police station but they hardly cooperated with us and are favouring the accused.' He added that the police were claiming the accused was also injured and had gotten him admitted to a hospital. Patil said the constable had suffered injuries on his ribs and claimed that the victim's injuries were minor and he was kept at the hospital just under observation.