Nagpur: In a significant development regarding the February 25 midnight Mercedes accident in Nagpur, the district and sessions court has rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the accused, Ritika alias Ritu Malu. The court’s decision came after a hearing held on Friday.
The incident occurred on Nagpur’s Ram Jhula bridge, where a speeding Mercedes, allegedly driven under the influence of alcohol, struck two individuals on a motorcycle. The accident, which took place around 1:30 AM, resulted in the immediate death of 34-year-old Mohammad Hussain. His companion, 32-year-old Mohammad Atif, succumbed to his injuries during treatment.
Ritika Malu and Madhuri Sarda, both from affluent families, were in the Mercedes at the time of the accident, with Ritika behind the wheel. Both women were accused of being intoxicated, a fact confirmed by medical examinations.
The victims’ relatives claimed that following the accident, the women’s husbands arrived at the scene along with the police, but both women fled. Despite the severity of the incident, the women were granted bail within 24 hours. Blood tests later confirmed the presence of alcohol in their systems, but these tests were conducted a significant six hours post-incident.
Initially, the police charged the women under Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. However, there was a call for more severe charges under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), which took police an additional 48 hours to process.
The case has seen multiple court dates regarding the bail issue, but on this occasion, the court took a firm stand, rejecting Ritika Malu’s anticipatory bail plea.
