Woman lawyer remanded to 14-day judicial custody

The alcohol level in the blood of 35-year-old <g data-gr-id="53">Gadkar</g>, who had allegedly drove the car allegedly after having drinks from a posh pub in south Mumbai, was about four times higher than the permissible limit, according to medical test reports.

A video, purportedly shot by a person who passed by the spot when the gruesome accident happened, showed that the woman was unperturbed, asking for her ‘dupatta’ from people who had gathered at the site.

Remanding <g data-gr-id="43">Gadkar</g> to 14-day judicial custody, Magistrate Richa Khedkar of Kurla court also reprimanded the police for not showing the progress of investigation in the case diary.

Soon after she was sent to the judicial custody, <g data-gr-id="38">Gadkar</g> moved her bail application which will be heard on June 15.

Seeking custody of the accused, who has been slapped with charge of 304 (II) of IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), police said that they wanted to record the statements of certain witnesses for which her custody was needed.

The police also said they wanted to go to all the places where the accused visited on the night of the incident. Gadkar’s lawyer, however, held that for recording the statements of the witnesses the custody of the accused was not required. Her lawyer said she was also injured in the accident and should be sent to the judicial custody.

In the wee hours of June 10, the car driven by <g data-gr-id="54">Gadkar</g> rammed a taxi, resulting in <g data-gr-id="44">death</g> of two people including the taxi driver on the Eastern Freeway here.

The deceased were identified as Mohammad Abdul Sayyad (55) and Mohammad Salim Sabuwala (50).

Meanwhile, medical reports of the accused’s blood samples suggested that the alcohol content in her blood was four times more than the permissible limit.

“Preliminary reports have suggested that the lawyer had an intake of alcohol four times than the permissible limits,” a police source said quoting initial forensic report which confirms that she was drunk at the time of the incident on June 9.

Legally, blood alcohol concentration is permissible <g data-gr-id="40">upto</g> 0.03 <g data-gr-id="41">per cent</g>, 30 mg per 100 ml of blood.

But Gadkar’s sample shows the presence of about 120 mg of alcohol concentration in 100 mg of blood, said the source.

“The forensic laboratory put this (case) on priority to give the preliminary report on our request,” the source said, adding that it would take a few more days for the final report to be compiled.

The preliminary report came amid police’s finding that Gadkar had visited a pub in south Mumbai after having six pegs of whisky at a hotel on Marine Drive on the fateful night. “We have got CCTV footage where Janhavi is seen entering the pub. However, anything more can be said only after further investigation into the matter,” RCF police station’s senior inspector Dilip Raut said.