‘Juhu cop’ visits witness with false Marathi statement, asks her to sign it

Bharti Rai a passenger who was in the BMW that crashed into a truck in Juhu on May 12 has alleged that someone claiming to be a cop visited her on May 16 at the Juhu hotel she was staying at and asked her to sign lsquoher statementrsquo which was in Marathi and mentioned she was drunk at the time of the incident There was no mention of the driver Adhvaryu Bandekar 27 and copassenger Ankit Narendra Khare 38 being in an inebriated statePallavi Pal Bhattacharya a 29yearold airhostess and West Bengal resident was killed while Bandekar Rai and Khare were seriously injured after the mishap occurred near the Juhu police stationThe BMW that belonged to Adhvaryu Bandekars mother which was wrecked in the May 12 accident PicSameer MarkandeAccording to the cops the quartet had partied at a bar and cafe in Sakinaka till 3 am after which Bandekar a merchant navy professional decided to drop them to their hotel in his motherrsquos BMW Bandekar who was speeding lost control after coming in contact with a speed breaker which was not visible in the dark and rammed into a parked garbage van around 330 am The accident was captured in a CCTV camera of the petrol pump The speed breaker ended right before the petrol pumpAlso Read Mumbai IIT Bombay alumni throw their weight behind wrestlersIn the incident Rai also an airhostess who was sitting in the backseat received multiple backbone fractures and is currently in Delhi with her familyDriver dischargedBandekar was recently discharged from the hospital but the police have not arrested him and are awaiting his blood report to ascertain if he was under the influence of alcoholOn the day of the incident Senior Inspector Ajit Vartak of the Juhu police station had told midday that Bandekar was drunk at the time of the accident Rai 27 alleged that a person identifying as a cop visited her a few days ago and asked her to sign papers claiming that they contained her statementldquoThe person introduced himself as lsquoRahul from the Juhu police stationrsquo I asked him to display his identity card but he didnrsquot do so He also said that if I signed the statement I would be eligible for insurance money The entire document was in Marathi I got it translated with the help of my friend It was mentioned in the statement that Bhattacharya and I were drunk but there was no mention of either Adhvaryu or Ankit having consumed alcohol I was surprised that he had assumed my statement and got a printed copy of it for me to authenticate it Also the facts were completely wrong and I had never recorded a statement with the cops in the first placerdquo Rai saidHorrific nightRecalling the horrifying night Rai said ldquoI had come to Mumbai for training and I met Ankit who is my friend Ankit and Adhvaryu are friends and this was the second time I met the latter On May 11 we were in Adhvaryursquos car and reached Opa bar and cafe at Sakinaka around 1230 am Adhvaryu and Pallavi were drinking at one table and I was with Ankit at another We also paid separate bills I saw the glasses on Adhvaryu and Pallavirsquos table but I am not sure what theywere drinkingrdquoShe added ldquoWe left at around 230 am Adhvaryu was speeding When we reached Juhu the car was suddenly flung into the air and crashed into a parked truck and auto We were taken to the hospital by local residents Pallavi who was sitting in the front died I was admitted to the hospital and after two days I returned to Delhi As I had been experiencing back pain I visited the doctor and it was found that I have multiple fractures in my backbonerdquoldquoBefore moving to Delhi I received a call from an officer of the Juhu police station and she asked me to give a statement as I was a witnessrdquo she statedJuhu cops deny sending manThe police are yet to visit Opa to check the bills and CCTV camera footage to verify if Bandekar had been drinkingWhen this reporter visited the bar and examined its vehicular register he learnt that the BMW had arrived at 1235 am on May 12 When the management was asked to let him look at CCTV camera footage and bills they declined but said that if the cops approach them they will provide everything and cooperate with the investigationAn officer attached to the Juhu police station told midday ldquoWe approached Bharti Rai and Ankit Khare to give statements but they refused We sent Bandekarrsquos blood sample to the Kalina Forensic Laboratory to confirm whether or not he was drunk The report is still awaitedrdquoInvestigation officer PI Dattatray Masvekar of Juhu police station told midday ldquoWe didnrsquot send any of our officers to record the statement of Bharti Rairdquo