Accused released on bail

The driver of the Honda City car that allegedly hit 18-year-old model Neelam Bharadwaj at Juhu Circle on Friday was released on a bail bond of Rs 50,000. The DN Nagar police had presented the driver before the court, which remanded him in judicial custody on Friday.

Purvesh Patkar (25), who was at the wheel of the car, had told the police that he was saving his car from hitting a Mahindra Xylo, which could have run into the girl.

The Xylo suddenly came in his way, forcing him to take a sharp turn and crash against into a lamp-post.

"We are still unclear about the sequence of events that led to the accident. Patkar has been telling us that a Mahindra Xylo would have hit the girl. However, we do not have more details of the case," said a police officer.

"To get the correct picture and find out more about the Xylo driver, we have asked the traffic police for CCTV recordings from the area," said Vijay Bhoite, senior inspector of D N Nagar police station.

Lokhandwala resident Neelam had spent the previous night at her cousin's place in Oshiwara and was going to meet her sister-in-law, a pilot with a private airline, at Hotel Orchid when the mishap took place.

Police took Neelam to Cooper Hospital, where she succumbed to injuries.

"Neelam's relatives have taken the body to Madhya Pradesh to perform her last rights," said Bhoite.

Based on circumstantial evidence, the police have booked Purvesh under Sections 304 A (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 279 (rash and negligent driving).

Bhoite said Patkar was was returning home after attending a party.

Bhoite said Patkar was driving his friend's car while returning from a party along with his friends Bid Roy and Rahul Purohit.

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