cars

Aston Martin Rapide

Mukesh Ambani

Reliance Group

accident

Aston Martin

Audi A6

Vikram Mishra

Hyundai

Skoda

touch

Honda

Owners of twosmashed up by anowned by’sin Mumbai on December 8 have got spanking new carsChristmas has brought cheer for two families involved in a nastyearlier this month. Owners of two cars smashed up by a speedingRapide owned by industrialist Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group in Mumbai on December 8 have got spanking new cars as compensation.Foram Ruparel, 25, whosewas damaged in the December 8 accident on Pedder Road in south Mumbai, and senior pharma executivewhoseElantra’s boot and bumper were knocked out of shape by the Rapide, received their new cars on Tuesday.While Ruparel got an identical A6, Mishra received aSuperb. On Monday, both Ruparel and Mishra had informed the Gamdevi police, in whose jurisdiction the accident happened, that they are not interested in pursuing the case any further.Tushar Ruparel, Foram’s father, confirmed on Wednesday that Reliance executives were inwith the two families to drop the case and accept suitable compensation. “On Monday we informed the investigating officer that we want to withdraw the case and on Tuesday we received the new cars,” he said. Both Ruparel and Mishra get to retain their old cars that are undergoing repairs and are expected to be road-worthy soon.Mishra remained unavailable for comment despite repeated attempts by this newspaper to reach him on Wednesday.Deputy Commissioner of Police Nisar Tamboli, however, said that the victims’ desire to withdraw the case will not impact the investigation in any way. “An FIR has been registered and we will continue with our probe. The case will be committed to a court and it will be up to the court to decide whether to allow withdrawal of prosecution,” he said.Bansilal Joshi, 55, a Reliance driver, took responsibility for the accident and presented himself at the Gamdevi police station the morning after the accident. He has not been arrested till date, indicating that the investigating team is not convinced that he was behind the speeding Rapide’s wheel at the time of the accident.One of the most vital questions that the police are seeking an answer to is: why were twoCRVs, with a large security detail, tailing a car driven by a chauffeur and not carrying any Ambani family member. They also want to know why the security personnel whisked the chauffeur away in one of their cars and did not report the matter to cops immediately.Foram Ruparel told Mirror a day after the accident that she had a good view of the man driving the Reliance car. "I could see in the rear-view mirror the car was moving at a high speed, weaving left and right. And then, in a flash, it hit my car. I had a decent look at the driver's face. He was a young man," she said. Forensic teams found two fingerprints in the car, but since the car had been used by multiple drivers, finger-prints alone don’t prove anything.