City builder Sushil Kothari blamed heavy rains for the Marine drive accident case in which he is the main accused, while seeking bail on Saturday. The hit-and-run case had resulted in the death of one person. Additional metropolitan magistrate VD Jadhavar rejected Kothari’s bail plea, and remanded him in judicial custody till September 17.
Kothari was arrested in the wee hours of Wednesday morning after he rammed his car into a scooter at Marine Drive and subsequently dashed into another four-wheeler at Malabar Hill in South Mumbai. The pillion rider of the scooter was killed, and the driver injured.
Kothari’s lawyer Satish Maneshinde argued that when Kothari dropped off some of his guests at the Trident hotel, it was raining heavily. He added that when Kothari’s car approached the end of Marine Drive flyover near Islam gymkhana, he saw six motorcyclists/scooter-riders speeding in a ‘zig-zag’ manner.
“Kothari couldn’t see exactly what was happening. That’s when one of the motorists rammed into the left side of the car,” said Maneshinde. However, advocate Farhana Shah, who represents the victim’s family, argued that it was not raining that night.
“The police found blood stains 30-40 feet away from the accident site. How were they found if it was raining?” she said. She also argued that the court’s response in this case should be humane.
Kothari had claimed that after the incident, the other bikers had approached him ‘menacingly’ from the flyover’s side, because of which he fled the scene and hit the stationary cars ahead.
Maneshinde also argued that a less stringent section, section 304 A (rash and negligent act, resulting in death), will be applicable in this case, and not culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which is what Kothari’s been charged under. He added that no further investigation needs to be conducted.
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