New Delhi: The mobile phone of a friend of the key accused in the Mumbai BMW hit-and-run case led the police to Mihir Shah. Shah had fled the scene after allegedly running over a woman with his luxury car on Sunday. It took three days to catch him because he, along with his mother and sisters, had switched off their mobile phones.The police had been searching for the family members using their car number. The phone number of Mihirs friend was also under surveillance. The BMW car hit couple Pradeep Nakhwa and Kaveri Nakhwa in Worli early on Sunday. The 24-year-old was allegedly behind the wheels at the time while his driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, was in the passenger seat.Mihir escapes with sisters and motherAccording to the police, Mihir left the BMW near Kala Nagar in Bandra and went to his girlfriends house in Goregaon. The girlfriend informed his sister about the accident after she came to her house, picked him up, and drove to their house in Borivali. From there, the family—his mother Meena and two sisters Puja and Kinjal—along with the friend Avdeep, left for a resort in Shahpur, nearly 70 km from Mumbai. Despite the polices efforts, the family had managed to stay under the radar until a critical mistake led to their capture.How was Mihir Shah caughtLast night, Mihir Shah separated from his family and came with his friend to Virar, around 65 km from Mumbai. This morning, the friend switched on his phone for 15 minutes, and the police got his location and then arrested Shah. A total of 12 people, including Shahs mother and sisters, were taken into custody.Mihir Shah is the son of Rajesh Shah, a deputy leader of the Eknath Shinde-led party in Maharashtras Palghar district. He allegedly called his father after the crash, who then asked him to escape.Rajesh Shah and Bidawat were produced in the court of Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (Sewree) SP Bhosale yesterday and were remanded in 14-day judicial and one-day police custody, respectively. Shah was charged for allegedly providing misinformation and destruction of evidence. However, Rajesh Shah was granted bail the same day.
