Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai: The Maharashtra excise department has suspended the license of Sai Prasad bar in Malad for serving alcohol to 23-year-old Mihir Shah, the prime accused in the Worli hit-and-run case, at around 4 am on July 7. The bar violated state regulations by selling beer hours after the permitted time, which is until 1:30 am.
In Maharashtra, licensed establishments such as bars, pubs, and restaurants are allowed to sell alcohol between 10 am and 1:30 am, while retail liquor stores operate between 10 am and 10 pm. The violation by Sai Prasad bar came to light during police and excise department investigations.
“We have suspended the bar license of Sai Prasad bar in Malad after our investigations. The bar served four cans of Budweiser Magnum to Shah and his driver, Rajrishi Bidawat, at around 4 am. They also failed to produce CCTV footage when requested and had some illegal alterations,” said a state excise department officer involved in the investigation.
The bar can challenge the suspension before the suburban collector or the state excise chief, Vijay Suryawanshi, who have the authority to overturn the order.
Previously, the excise department had suspended the license of Vice-Global Tapas Bar on Juhu Tara Road for serving hard drinks to Shah, who is under the legal drinking age of 25. This bar also faced action for alleged illegal constructions following a report from the excise department.
The incident involved Mihir Shah crashing his BMW into a scooter driven by Pradeep Nakhwa, 50, with his wife Kaveri, 45, as a pillion rider. Pradeep sustained minor injuries, but Kaveri was tragically dragged for almost 2.5 kilometers and was subsequently run over again by Bidawat while reversing the car.
Shah, who initially denied consuming alcohol, later admitted to drinking copious amounts before the crash. His father, Rajesh Shah, a leader of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena group, was also arrested and later granted bail.
The police have charged Mihir Shah under multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, rash or negligent driving, endangering life, causing disappearance of evidence, and destruction of property with intent to cause wrongful loss. Relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act have also been applied.
Shah will be produced before the court on Tuesday as his police custody ends.
