THANE: The 17-year-old boy who allegedly rammed a speeding car into businessman Shrinivas Tandle in Kalyan on Tuesday, killing him on the spot, was on Thursday remanded to an observation home for 14 days. The boy’s mother, who investigators suspect was in the car during the accident, has also been named as a co-accused in the case.
Confirming the development, Deputy Commissioner of Police (zone 3) Atul Zende said the car involved in the accident was registered in the mother’s name, and she was named as co-accused for allowing her minor son to use it although he had no authorisation to drive a vehicle.
As reported by HT on Wednesday, the accident occurred on a stretch of the under-construction Kalyan Ring Road that runs parallel to the Ulhas river. Tandle, associated with one of Kalyan’s oldest cloth stores, was cycling on the stretch on Tuesday evening when a speeding car rammed into him. He was thrown into the air due to the impact of the accident and died on the spot.
The minor boy who was allegedly driving the car was detained on Wednesday. The only child of his parents, he was on vacation after recently appearing for class 11 examinations. His father was a legal consultant and he had been driving the car for some time even though he did not have any formal training, investigators said.
On Thursday, the accused boy was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board in Bhiwandi and remanded to the Bhiwandi Boys’ Observation Home for 14 days.
The boy’s mother was also served a notice on Thursday, asking her to visit the police station and record her statement.
“We have not questioned the mother yet as she was hospitalised with asthma-related complaints after the incident,” a police officer familiar with the case told HT. “She will be taken into custody and further legal procedures will be initiated once she is discharged.”
Meanwhile, cyclists’ groups in Kalyan (Bikeport and Kalyan Cyclists) organised a condolence and protest meet at the accident site on Thursday. The group sought immediate implementation of safety measures on the stretch of the ring road where the accident occurred, such as construction of speed breakers, barricading, installation of CCTV cameras, and more police surveillance.
Representatives of these groups had met senior civic officials yesterday and urged them to visit the accident spot to understand their concerns, said Kalyan Royal . “On Thursday, officials visited the spot during the condolence and protest meeting.”