Mumbai: Woman dies in cab accident, driver 'completes trip' and charges her

Nearly a month after a Mumbra family lost a beloved member they are still grappling with the utter callousness of authorities and private players involved in the death On June 14 Tanzila Shaikh 35 was killed when the Uber cab she was travelling in smashed into a stationary garbage van wrongly parked on Eastern Express Highway near BhandupWhile Tanzilas injuries were horrific the driver Inderjeet Singh Bhatti surprisingly escaped unscathed It later turned out that Bhatti should never have been allowed to drive an Uber as he had been penalised twice for speeding just two months before the accidentTanzila Shaikh with her sonAs if that was not enough right in the middle of their mourning the Shaikhs started receiving unwarranted calls from motor vehicle insurance agents and lawyers telling them to register a case with the Motor Vehicle Tribunal They then audaciously demanded 21 per cent of the compensation amount as fees We were shocked to hear that they had been referred by the subinspector probing the case and the postmortem centre at Rajawadi Hospital said an agitated MuzammilThe accidentTanzila was a BTech graduate and employed with Wipro in a managerial position She was deputed at a client site at Mindspace Gigaplex Airoli while Muzammil works with Capgemini also in Airoli On June 14 Tanzila was headed for a meeting at Goregaon As there was no parking there she decided to take an Uber insteadThe car after the crashI spoke to her over the phone to check if she would be returning to Airoli or going straight home She said she would let me know in a while Those were her last words to me An hour later I got a call about the accident We were to pick up our son from the day care centre and go Eid shopping Our world had shattered said Muzammil close to tears My son still dials his mothers number hoping she will pick it up We have not told him yet that she is no more he saidThe nightmare for Muzammil continued at Rajawadi postmortem centre He said The report said some foreign object a piece of glass or wiper had pierced deep into her brain resulting in immediate death Also both her eyes had sunk into their sockets due to the impact which indicates that the driver was speedingSpeeding car caught on cameraDriver gets bailThere was more misery in store for the family when they learnt that the driver managed to post bail the very next day and was roaming free We are still shocked at how the driver managed to come out on bail the next day How could the police not book him under stringent sections of the IPC and MV Act Had Uber taken action against the driver in April itself where he was twice fined for rash driving on the Freeway the accident would not have happened Muzammil saidInderjeet Singh Bhatti The DriverWhen Muzammil went through Tanzilas phone later he discovered that Uber had debited Rs 56810 from her Paytm account despite the journey never having been completed How could Uber debit the charge when the accident happened at Bhandup and the car was not plying Of course after Muzammil complained to Uber the amount was promptly refunded he saidInsurance agents start callingWhile the family was processing all this Muzammil received a phone call from the investigating subinspector at Vikhroli police station who while offering condolences casually mentioned a thirdparty insurance claim through which surviving family members are compensated He then said he had an agent who would contact the ShaikhsMuzammil Shaikh The HusbandWhen the agent came to meet me he was accompanied by an advocate and they both proceeded to tell me they would take 21 of the claim amount as fees After that three other agents and advocates called I was aghast to hear their demandsPolice sayWe are awaiting approval from the central government to make the vahan portal operational When that happens all vehicular accidents reported at local police stations will be connected to the traffic police department and even RTOs We will be able to take prompt action against habitual traffic violators In this particular case we will have to wait for the local police to write to us in order for us to start the process of revoking the drivers licence said Amitesh Kumar Joint Commissioner of Police Traffic Akhilesh Singh Deputy Commissioner of Police Zone 7 said We will be writing to the traffic department and RTO requesting them to take necessary action including revoking the licence of the driver I do not know if the investigating police officer is aware about the earlier violations If he has not considered them we will get the same incorporated in our investigation and expedite the process of cancelling the licenceUBER saysAn Uber spokesperson said Our hearts go out to the victim the driver partner and their families Upon learning about the tragic incident we immediately removed the driver partners access to the app While the police have been able to swiftly conduct the investigation into the accident we continue to stand ready to extend support to the police investigation in every way possibleSupreme Courts viewOn Tuesday the Supreme Court had come down heavily on the practice of some lawyers demanding a percentage of the claim amount awarded to clients as professional fees SC ruled that such a practice amounts to misconduct and is against public policy The apex court even called on the government to bring about legislative changes to check such violation by lawyersThe driver saysInderjeet Singh Bhatti 59 told midday over the phone That day the woman Tanzila boarded my cab at 155 pm and was sitting in the back seat on the left Singh claims as he was taking a turn at Bhandup he felt someone hit him on his head from behind When he turned around he saw that the woman was on the mobile phone and seconds later his car had crashed into a stationary garbage collecting van parked on the wrong side of the roadSingh claims he was driving at less than 60 kmph He said the garbage vans back portion was jutting out and smashed the windshield pierced the front seat and hit the woman straight in the face I was wearing a seatbelt so was not harmed The public immediately pulled us out and the police arrived and took us to hospital he saidWhen asked if he was aware about the echallan issued by the Mumbai traffic department after traffic cameras installed on the Freeway caught him speeding Singh said he did not remember any such violation midday has screenshots of the violationsHe insisted The past three months I have been driving a car that has an inbuilt speed governor So the question of my speeding above 100 kmph doesnt arise And about his release on bail within a day he said I was produced before the court the next day and was released on bail of Rs 15000 as per court orders So what next for Singh This is my firstever accident in three decades of driving I am completely shaken I dont think I will ever drive againTransport Commissioner saysA message from the transport commissioners office said There is a procedure the police need to follow They have to write to us intimating us about the accident Also there are certain offences under the motor vehicle act which call for immediate action such as suspension or cancellation of licence The RTO concerned might have got the police memo They will find out the exact violation on the basis of which action will be initiated against the driverAlso readMumbai Uber agrees to compensate 66yearold for accident injuriesCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates