Gujarat BJP MLA’s nephew arrested, released on bail in hit-and-run case that killed 1

The nephew of a Bharatiya Janata Party legislator has been arrested and released on bail in connection with a hit-and-run crash in Ahmedabad that killed a 35-year-old passenger riding on an app-based motorcycle taxi, police said on Friday.

Police identified the suspect as Raghavendra Kushwaha, the nephew of BJP legislator from Ahmedabad’s Bapunagar constituency, Dineshsinh Kushwaha. Police said Raghavendra, who allegedly drove the Range Rover sports utility vehicle involved in the accident, fled the scene. The accident occurred at a traffic intersection not covered by a CCTV camera.

“We tracked the car using CCTV footage from other areas and caught him at his house the following morning. During the investigation, we found out that he is the nephew of the MLA,” deputy superintendent of police (Dy SP) Neelam Goswami of Ahmedabad Rural Police’s Sanand division said.

The vehicle was registered in Raghavendra’s mother’s name.

The accident took place around 6:45am on Wednesday near the Shilaj area of Ahmedabad when the SUV collided with a motorcycle booked through Rapido bike-taxi. The passenger, Harshadkumar Purbia, was taken to the Sola Civil Hospital and later transferred to Marengo CIMS Hospital, where he died of his injuries.

The motorcycle driver, Pradeep Kumar Darwal, survived with injuries and filed a formal police complaint later that afternoon, identifying the vehicle involved as a Range Rover.

“According to the motorcycle rider, the collision occurred when he was attempting to take a right turn at a road crossing, and the Range Rover approached from the other direction. Both drivers apparently expected the other to slow down, resulting in the collision,” Goswami told HT. She said the car driver left the spot after the collision.

Kushwaha claimed that he fled the spot because he feared for his safety at the accident site. It is not clear why he didn’t surrender at the police station later.

Police said there was no evidence yet to indicate that he was drunk at the time.

Police said Raghavendra was released on bail since he was booked for offences punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years. He has been issued a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which requires a person to appear before the police for questioning when arrest is not considered necessary.