Mumbai: Woman BMW driver booked for dangerous driving after confrontation with traffic constable

A still from the video where Juhi Mehta is seen trying to drive off

A woman driving a BMW was arrested for allegedly attempting to run over an on-duty traffic police constable following a minor collision with a Maruti WagonR at Sangeet Mahabharati Junction in Vile Parle West on Friday night. The accused, identified as Juhi Mehta, allegedly threatened the constable and accelerated towards him despite repeated and clear instructions to stop, police said.

The accused, Mehta, is the chief operating officer of a Mumbai-based creator-focused digital media and content commerce company. According to the police, the incident took place between 8.15 pm and 8.30 pm on October 30, when constable Prashant Gokul Hake of the Santacruz Traffic Division was on duty outside Pratiksha Bungalow on NS Road No. 10.

Juhi Mehta works at a creator-focused content company

"A BMW and a Maruti WagonR were involved in a minor collision, following which both vehicles remained stranded in the middle of the road, obstructing traffic. A crowd soon gathered around the vehicles. Constable Hake, who was on duty nearby, rushed to the spot and instructed both drivers to move their vehicles to the roadside," a police official said.

The woman driving the BMW can be seen in the video allegedly refusing to comply with the constable. "While Hake repeatedly told her, ‘Madam, please stop the vehicle and step out,' she kept responding, ‘Kitna paise chahiye?' (How much money do you want?)," the police official said. Hake can be seen standing in front of the BMW in the video, while the woman allegedly attempts to drive over him.

Following a complaint by Hake, Juhu police registered an FIR against Mehta (a copy of which is with Sunday mid-day) under Sections 132, 125 and 351(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which deal with assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging official duty, acts endangering the life or personal safety of others, and criminal intimidation, respectively. She was also booked under Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act for dangerous driving.

A senior police official confirmed that Mehta was arrested in connection with the case and has been released on cash bail. "We are examining the CCTV footage from the area to reconstruct the sequence of events," a police official from Juhu said.

Hake in his statement to the police, alleged that the woman also threatened to implicate him in a false case. "Main bahut ameer hoon, meri bahut pehchaan hai. Tujhe kidnap karne aur ladies ke case mein phasa dungi". He stated despite told to stop, she continued to drive away. Sunday mid-day attempted to contact Mehta several times but Mehta didn't respond.