MUMBAI: A 34-year-old woman riding pillion on a motorcycle was killed and six others injured after a 70-year-old man’s car crashed into the bike and three autorickshaws at a traffic signal in Malad West on Sunday night.
Police arrested the driver, identified as Krishna Chamankar, who allegedly told investigators that he accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake. He has been booked for rash driving, negligence and dangerous driving.
A medical examination at a government hospital found no alcohol in Chamankar’s blood, police said. He was produced before a magistrate on Monday and remanded in judicial custody.
The deceased, Priyanka Satra, was a law graduate and mother of two. Her husband, Mayank, who was riding the motorcycle, suffered fractures and back injuries and was hospitalised.
According to Mayank’s brother, Manthan, the couple had left their home in Malad to buy vegetables. While returning around 8 pm, they were waiting at the traffic signal at the Mamlatdarwadi-SV Road junction when the car suddenly crashed into them.
The impact threw the couple off the motorcycle. A large crowd gathered at the scene, alerting the Malad police, who sent a team to the spot.
Police said Chamankar was driving from the Malad subway towards SV Road when he allegedly stepped on the accelerator instead of the brake. His car subsequently hit three autorickshaws, injuring their drivers — Subhedar Chandra Gautam, 50, Ramkesh Rajbhar, 35, and Abdul Rehman Shaikh, 25.
A passenger in one of the autos, 48-year-old Zaitun Bi Imam, sustained serious head injuries. Another passenger was also injured. All the injured were taken to Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital.
Late Sunday, relatives of the Satra family went to Malad police station demanding stricter charges against Chamankar. Manthan alleged that the accused showed no remorse and did not apologise to the family.
The incident also prompted questions about Chamankar’s treatment while in custody. Corporator Pravin Chheda alleged that the accused had been allowed to use his phone and was moved to an air-conditioned room at the police station for some time. Chheda said he had written to the police commissioner seeking a detailed inquiry into the matter.
On Monday afternoon, Priyanka’s neighbours and relatives gathered for her final journey. Mayank, still recovering from his injuries, was brought from the hospital in an ambulance to pay his last respects to his wife before being taken back.
The couple’s two children, a son and a daughter, are both under 10 years old. “They are too little to comprehend what has happened,” a close relative said.
Activist Anjali Damania also alleged that Chamankar is one of the partners of K S Chamankar Enterprises, which had been appointed as a developer for the New Maharashtra Sadan guesthouse in Delhi. The Enforcement Directorate had registered a money-laundering case against the company in 2016. The Bombay High Court quashed the case in 2025.
