21-year-old girl killed in road mishap

A 21-year-old girl was killed and her brother injured when their two-wheeler rammed into a road divider in suburban Vile Parle, after which she fell on the other side of the road only to be “brushed” by a police jeep. The deceased has been identified as Avni Desai, who was riding a Scooty on Shahaji Raje Road last night, when it hit the road divider, police said. According to police, Avni and her brother were going towards their home at about 9.30 PM when the two-wheeler hit a divider, following which she fell on the other side of the road. At that time, a police jeep driven by constable Jalindar Bhosale was passing by on the other side, which, according to police, brushed her. Kherwadi police station in-charge Avadhut Chawan was inside the jeep that was heading to Andheri railway station to drop him. “She was not run over by the police jeep. There were some external injuries on her, but it was not clear if they were caused after being brushed by the police jeep or due to the divider accident,” Assistant Police Commissioner Vasant Dhobale said. Nevertheless, since the investigation is in preliminary stage, constable Bhosale has been booked under IPC section 304 (a) (causing death by negligence), as there was a possibility that the jeep might have brushed the victim and probably caused her death. “We are awaiting the post-mortem report and the probe is on. If the investigation indicates that she died following the divider accident and was not hit by police jeep, the constable will not be arrested and the case would be withdrawn against him,” Dhobale added. PTI