A 32-year-old man was arrested in Mumbai for allegedly driving a woman on the hood of his car, causing her to fall and injure herself in the western suburbs, police said on Saturday.
“Accused Vinit Ghiya has been charged with reckless driving and physically assaulting a woman for the incident that took place in Borivali West on Thursday,” the official said, as reported by PTI.
He said Ghiya had befriended the victim, a spa employee, a few days earlier and they had been hanging out at a pub.
“While they were returning home in the car, they had a heated argument over some matter after which the accused took her mobile phone and she got out of the vehicle and sat on the bonnet,” the official said, as reported by PTI.
Ghiya drove the car fast with the woman on the hood, causing her to fall, and then sped off, he said.
Nearly 4.5 million crimes against women were reported in 2023, showing a slight increase compared to the previous two years, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
A total of 4,48,211 cases were registered in 2023, up from 4,45,256 in 2022 and 4,28,278 in 2021, according to NCRB data.
“Locals in the vicinity rushed the woman to the hospital, the official said. The accused was produced before the court, which sent him to police custody,” he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore, four people were killed and another seriously injured when their car veered off the road and hit a tree nearby, PTI reported, citing police.
According to preliminary investigations, the accident took place at Perur Chettipalayam on Friday evening after the driver lost control and hit a tree.
“All the deceased were between the ages of 19 and 25. The injured are admitted to the intensive care unit of Coimbatore Medical College Hospital,” an official from the Peru police station told PTI.
In 2023, India recorded more than 1.73 lakh road accident deaths, up 2.6% from 2022. Speeding and reckless driving remained the main causes of these deaths, with two-wheeler riders, especially those without helmets, accounting for a large proportion.
The states reporting the highest number of accidents were Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
