Cop U-turn: Ex-MLA's car not in hit-and-run

Four days after the police claimed that a car belonging to former legislator Hitendra Thakur was involved in a hit-and-run, the police said on Friday that it was an investigation blunder on their part.

An officer said the conclusion that it was Thakur’s car had been “hastily” done.

Thakur is the president of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. His son, Kshitij, is a sitting legislator.

On Monday evening, a Lexus SUV bearing a ‘VIP’ registration number had rammed into an autorickshaw on Palghar-Manor road, killing two men. The car, which had sped away, was subsequently tracked down at a nakabandi.

Embarrassed over this faux pas, police officials said that the investigation of this case could be handed over to another officer.

When dna contacted the current investigation officer, Balramsingh Pardeshi, he said that the car did not belong to the legislator but had been given to one of his relatives. “There was a written agreement to this effect,” said Pardeshi.

Asked whether he would be shunted from the case, Pardeshi said he was busy with Ganeshotsav duty and disconnected the line.

No officer at Palghar police station was willing to speak on the record.

However, sources said on the condition of anonymity that naming the former legislator was what had got them in a tight spot.

“There is immense pressure to cover up the incident,” said a source who asked not to be named.