Drunk hotelier charged with attempted murder after dramatic police chase | Mumbai News

Mumbai: The charge of attempted negligent homicide (Section 110 BNS) has now been filed against the 40-year-old hotel chain owner from Worli, who allegedly tried to run over police officers at a nakabandi and in the process crashed his SUV into a security barricade, two police vehicles, a BMW, a car and three bikes, and led police on a dramatic 30-minute chase in Andheri East in the early hours of November 28.
“We have added Section 110 because his act endangered the lives of police personnel and others on the road,” said ACP Shashikant Bhosale. The charge is non-bailable and punishable by three to seven years in prison and/or a fine.
Police had earlier booked hotelier Sabyasachi Nishank under Sections 281 (rash driving) and 324 (causing unlawful loss or damage to individuals or public) of the BNS and Section 185 (drunk driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
Nishank’s medical examination revealed that his blood alcohol content exceeded the permissible limit. When he was arrested, four bottles of alcohol were found in his SUV. He will be produced in an Andheri court after his police custody ends on Monday.
An officer involved in the 4.9km chase said Nishank was heading towards Andheri with his girlfriend after dropping a friend when he was asked to stop near the Gokhale bridge for a check-up to stop the influence of alcohol. An SI and four police officers conducted alcohol tests.
One of the policemen, Jaywant More of Sahar traffic police, said in the FIR that Nishank stepped on the accelerator when he was asked to roll down his window. “He tried to run over me and a police officer who was in command… He drove through the security barricade after hitting the patrol car and sped towards Tab Junction where he hit another police car and some other vehicles.”
Police said the barricade remained attached to the hood throughout the chase until angry motorists and bikers forced Nishank to stop. They attacked him after breaking a window and dragging him out. Meanwhile, the police arrived, hot on his heels, and rescued him and his girlfriend from the crowd.
Investigations revealed that Nishank, while studying at a catering college, was arrested for attempted murder in 2009 after he crashed his car into a traffic police officer on his way to a birthday party in Santacruz. The traffic police officer was in a coma for some time. Nishank’s father is a senior RBI official.