Thursday, June 18, 2015


Jun 12 2015 : The Times of India (Mumbai)
Alcohol in lawyer's blood 4 times legal limit 
Mumbai


Jahnavi Gadkar Also Visited A Pub After Drinking In A Hotel
The alcohol content in the blood of corporate lawyer Janhavi Gadkar was four times the legal limit. Gadkar is accused of colliding with a taxi while driving drunk and killing two persons and injuring four others early on Tuesday .A Forensic Science Laboratory report says the blood alcohol content (BAC) in the sample of Janhavi's blood is 120mg per 100ml. The legal limit of blood alcohol concentration is 0.03% or 30mg per 100ml of blood. Actor Salman Khan's BAC after his car ran over one person in 2002 was 62mg100ml of blood.
The report came even as it emerged that the 35-year-old visited a pub in south Mumbai on Monday night after leaving a hotel on Marine Drive following drinks with two colleagues.
The BAC report--a preliminary one issued on a priority basis on Thursday evening on police request--corroborates the bill she paid in Hotel Marine Plaza for six pegs of whisky . In her statement, Janhavi, V-P (legal) with RIL, had claimed she drank only two pegs.
With sources saying she was spotted with a senior RIL executive at the Irish House pub in Kala Ghoda after leaving Marine Plaza on Monday , the police approached the pub and found CCTV footage showing Janhavi entering the establishment. “We have got CCTV footage where Jan havi is seen entering the pub.We are trying to find out whether she had a few pegs there too,“ said an officer.
A drunk Janhavi drove on the wrong lane of the Eastern Freeway on Tuesday and scraped two cars before colliding with a taxi, killing driver Hussein Sayyed, 57, and Haji Salim Sabuwala, 50. The wife and children of Sabuwala, returning after celebrating his son's success in the SSC exam, were injured.
The Sabuwalas are planning to employ a lawyer to oppose bail for Janhavi as she is produced in court on Friday and will push for the trial to be fast-tracked.
Janhavi, who is in police custody , has been booked for drunk driving and culpable homicide not amounting to murder that carries a maximum jail term of 10 years. Following TOI's June 11 report that Janhavi had knocked down two bikers in Govandi last week, RCF police recorded the statement of staffers of Shatabdi hospital where she was recognized by a doctor. RCF police have annexed the documents in this case to corroborate that she was a habitual offender.
The police have collected important evidence like CCTV footage showing her at the eateries and the bill for six pegs of whisky paid by her debit card at Marine Plaza. They are working on building a water-tight case after their experience in the Salman Khan case.
“We are also planning to propose to run the case before a fast track court with a special public prosecutor,“ said Sangramsingh Nishandar, deputy commissioner of police (zone VI).
Cops have recorded the statements of all eight witnesses, including the steward, cashier and manager of Marine Plaza, Janhavi's colleagues Rahul Dutta and Shailendra Rane, who were with her at Marine Plaza, and two motorists, Hussain Khan and Thapar. The cops have sought permission and a date from the Kurla metropolitan magistrate to record their statements before a magistrate to prevent retraction in future.
On Thursday , Janhavi was taken to Sion hospital after there was swelling in her injured left hand. She was treated for bone dislocation and discharged.
She will be produced before the Kurla court on Friday for further remand. The police could seek additional custody on the grounds that investigation is on and more witnesses are being examined after the revelation of an earlier accident and that she visited another pub in south Mumbai on Monday night before the accident.
Also, in a serious case like fatalities resulting from drunken driving, bail is often not granted till the chargesheet is filed. Actor Salman Khan, also charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, was granted bail in 2002 after 18 days in custody when the police filed the chargesheet.
Janhavi has complained that her purse with Rs 9,000 and debit and credit cards have gone missing.
(With inputs from Swati Deshpande) 

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