Saira Bano was out buying vegetables for her family, when a speeding car rammed into her, dragging her several metres before crashing into Cafe Janata and causing her instant death. The Monday accident at Crawford Market killed five people and injured three others. The man behind the wheel on that fateful night was identified as Sameer Ali Ibrahim Sayyed alias Diggi, a history-sheeter.

Sameer Ali Ibrahim Sayyed alias Diggi, 46, who, according to an eyewitness, was "driving at 120 kmph" on that night, had just in June hit a woman with his car at J J Marg and was thrashed by the locals. J J Marg police registered a case for rash driving after the woman refused to file a complaint. Police sources told mid-day numerous cases are registered against him at different police stations in South Mumbai. The charges against him are all serious — rioting, hurting religious sentiments, circulating fake currency, etc. In 2011, he was booked under Arms Act for "procuring 18 sophisticated weapons from the underworld".