Protesters Outside Malad Police Station Demand Re-Arrest of Driver in Fatal Crash

Members of the local community and BJP party workers joined the family of car crash victim Priyanka Satra on Thursday to stage a protest outside the Malad police station, demanding the re-arrest of the accused driver and the addition of stronger criminal sections against him.

The 70-year-old accused, Krishna Chamankar, allegedly rammed his car into four vehicles on Sunday night at the SV Road-Mamlatdaarwadi junction in Malad. The collision resulted in the death of Satra and left six other individuals with serious injuries. Following his arrest, Chamankar was granted bail by a magistrate court on Monday.

Satra, 34, was a law graduate and a mother of two. At the time of the incident, she was seated as a pillion passenger on a motorcycle driven by her husband, Mayank. Mayank suffered severe injuries in the crash and has been hospitalised.

During the demonstration, protesters questioned why the Mumbai Police had not invoked the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in the Malad case. They highlighted that the police force had applied that exact charge in another vehicle crash in Bandra, where an eight-year-old child died on the very same day.

Demonstrators also raised objections to the initial First Information Report drawn up by the Malad police, describing it as very basic and arguing that it fails to reflect the gravity of the crash. They noted that the FIR omitted several injured victims, including pedestrians who were hurt during the incident.

Furthermore, protesters pointed out that available CCTV footage from the crash site clearly recorded Chamankar speeding and failing to halt his vehicle after striking the Satras' motorcycle, yet the registered FIR remained silent regarding those details.