Mercedes crash: Woman driver accused of drunk driving surrenders before Nagpur cops

Nagpur: A woman accused of mowing down two men while driving her Mercedes car under the influence of alcohol in Nagpur surrendered before police on Monday, more than four months after the crash, and was subsequently placed under arrest, officials said.

Ritika alias Ritu Maloo walked into a city police station where she was formally arrested in the evening after questioning, they said.

Late last month, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court refused pre-arrest bail to the woman, saying no prudent person drives under the influence of alcohol and termed it as a serious misconduct.

The incident occurred on February 25 on Nagpur’s Ram Jhula bridge when Maloo drove her Mercedes car recklessly allegedly under the influence of alcohol and crashed into two men on a scooter. Both riders, Mohd Hussain Gulam Mustafa and Mohd Ateef Mohd Zia, sustained fatal injuries in the crash.

Initially booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicles Act for rash and negligent driving and causing hurt to a person by a rash act, additional criminal charges, including culpable homicide, were later slapped against Maloo by the police after public outcry and given the severity of the crash.

The woman was initially granted bail. The police, however, later sought to arrest her again prompting Maloo to move the HC for pre-arrest bail. She will be produced in a local court on Tuesday, according to the police.