Sea Link accident: Magistrate court refuses bail to speeding Creta car driver

Mumbai: A metropolitan magistrate court in Dadar has rejected the bail plea of Irfan Abdul Rahim Bilakiya, the driver of the speeding SUV that crashed into three vehicles, including an ambulance and a Mercedes parked on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link (BWSL) in the early hours on October 5, killing five and injuring eight persons.

The accident took place at 2.53am, exactly 18 minutes after a Maruti Suzuki Swift crashed into the barricade on the south-bound side of the BWSL (towards Worli) following a tyre burst and the owner of a Maruti Suzuki Baleno stopped to help four stranded occupants of the Swift.

The BWSL staff, noticing the parked vehicles, assumed that an accident had taken place and sent an ambulance as well as a tow-away vehicle to the site. Meanwhile, doctor duo Dr Ankush Tinha (37) and Dr Ashwini Nair (28), both officers of the Indian Navy, also stopped their Mercedes just ahead of the Swift, assuming that medical help was needed.

Bilakiya’s speeding Hyundai Creta came from behind and crashed into the vehicles, resulting in the death of five persons – the ambulance driver and four BSWL toll staff, and injuring eight persons, including the doctors. Forty-year-old Bilakiya was arrested later in the day, and charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, under section 304 (2) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

He had applied to the magistrate court for bail, claiming that the accident was a result of system failure and an outcome of contributory negligence on part of the government authorities



– who failed to take appropriate safety measures after the first accident. He said, as such, he is a victim of the incident, and also suffered several injuries. He maintained that the speed of his car at the time was well within permissible limits.

The Worli police opposed the plea by pointing out that the reflector cones were placed at a considerable distance ahead of the spot, and the vehicle driven by the accused had a distance of 280 metres in just 92 seconds, recording a speed of 109 km per hour.

Metropolitan magistrate Suhas Bhosale, however, found no substance in Bilakiya’s contention that the accident was a result of system failure, saying he was the fourth car to reach the spot. “When the drivers of the other three cars could see the first vehicle that met with the accident, the contention of the accused blaming system failure cannot be believed,” said the court while rejecting the contention.

As regards the speed of the vehicle, the court said that had the accused not been at high speed, he could have controlled the vehicle. About his contention that the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder would not be applicable to the case and at the most, it could be a case of rash and negligent act, the court said since the investigation is yet to be completed no conclusion can be drawn.

“The offence is serious in nature and investigation is in progress and therefore, it would not be proper to release the accused on bail at this stage,” said the court and rejected Bilakiya’s bail plea.