THE District and Sessions Judge R S Bhosle Patil on Friday rejected the anticipatory bail plea to Ritika alias Ritu Dinesh Malu (39), an accused of mowing down two persons while driving a Mercedes car on Ram Jhula on February 24 this year. With the order from the court, the Tehsil Police are likely to arrest Malu for further investigation. The prosecution, led by Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Rashmi Khaparde, presented its case and requested custody of Ritika Malu, a resident of Deshpande Lay-out, for driving the Mercedes and causing the death of two youngsters, Mohd Hussain Gulam Mustafa (34), a resident of Naal Sahab Square, Mominpura; and his friend Mohd Atif Mohd Jiya (32), residing in Jafar Nagar, on the night of February 24.

 

After the accident, Ritika and her companion Madhuri Shishir Sarda (37), a resident of Wardhaman Nagar, fled the scene. However, the two women later surrendered themselves to the police and admitted their involvement in the incident. Tehsil Police had registered a case under Sections 279, 338, and 304 (a) of the Indian Penal Code, along with Section 184 of the Motor Vehicle Act. The prosecution argued for the custody of Malu to ascertain who helped her after the accident as she was absconding for three hours. After she surrendered before the police, her medical examination was conducted and her blood sample reported the presence of 0.030 ml of alcohol in her blood. APP Khaparde had argued before the court that the amount of alcohol found in the blood was recorded after six hours of the accident, which indicates that the amount of alcohol in her blood was much higher when the accident occurred, resulting in the loss of two lives.

 

It may be mentioned here that upon being produced in court on February 24, Ritika was granted bail as Section 304 (a) is a bailable section. However, the revelation from Ritika Malu’s blood sample which indicated that she was driving under the influence of alcohol, led the police to add Section 304 of the IPC, a nonbailable section. They informed the JMFC court and requested police custody of Ritika Malu, but the application was rejected. As a result, the police approached the District and Sessions court for custody of Ritika Malu. A senior police official of Tehsil Police Station said that further action would be initiated after receiving the order of the court. “We have built a strong case against Ritika Malu, backed by evidence such as the blood sample report, her CP Club bills, CCTV footage, and eyewitness accounts,” he said.