Abhijeet Sawant assaulted after road mishap

A joyride at Santacruz west turned into a mob situation late on Tuesday night after a vehicle,being driven by Indian Idol runner-up and Bollywood singer Prajakta Shukre (22),allegedly rammed into a bike at Daulat Nagar,injuring two teenagers. The mob which gathered at the spot also allegedly manhandled singer Abhijeet Sawant who tried to intervene on Shukre’s behalf. The police later arrested Shukre for rash driving. She was subsequently released on bail.

Senior Police Inspector Madhukar Chaudhari from the Santacruz police station said,“The incident occurred at around 10:45 pm on Tuesday when Shukre and her friends,including Sawant,were passing by Daulat Nagar from Juhu in three cars. When they were passing through,the victims,identified as Taufiq Khan (19) who was on a bike with his younger brother Tohid Khan (12) riding pillion came out of a lane and swerved in the path of the Honda City which was being driven by Shukre.” The car rammed into the bike and the impact caused the two teenagers to fall down. The car later hit a tree.

The incident attracted a mob of local residents who got into an argument with Shukre and Sawant,who had been sitting in another car and who tried to protect Shukre from the angry crowd. “After the police station was informed about the incident,we dispatched a team to the spot to control the situation. Shukre and her set of friends were brought to the police station where Shukre was charged with rash driving and subsequently released on bail,” said Chaudhary.

Tohid suffered a fracture whereas Taufiq suffered light injuries. Both the teenagers were rushed to Nanavati Hospital and are recuperating there. When asked about whether Shukre was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident,Chaudhari said,“We have sent her blood samples for alcohol tests but prima facie,she did not seem to be inebriated. Both Sawant and Shukre were unavailable for comment.