Shobhaa De | Blame it on Jack Daniel's! Mihir Shah is innocent

The scenario: A shady Juhu bar. Cast: Brats Mihir Shah and friends. Principal villain: Shiv Sena leader Rajesh Shah. Vamps: Mrs Meenal Shah, sisters Pooja Shah and Kinjal Shah. Fall Guy: Driver Rajrishi Bidawat. Victims: Pradeep Nakhawa, husband of deceased Kaveri Nakhawa and daughter Amruta  Nakhawa. In the dock: Goonda Raj.

This is yet another grisly story involving an entitled, super-privileged devil of a son, recklessly driving his father’s BMW after binge drinking with buddies at a Juhu watering hole. Not only was an innocent woman riding on a scooter with her husband callously hit by Mihir, but worse was to follow. She landed on the bonnet of the speeding car… her grief-stricken husband narrated what happened next. And this is the most shocking part. Mihir and his co-conspirator family driver Rajrishi decided to shove Kaveri’s body off the bonnet and nonchalantly drive away. Forget about phoning for an ambulance or informing the cops, these two did what arrogant, drunk-with-fake-power political offspring invariably do… they deliberately reversed the BMW over the prone woman writhing in pain on the road, and sped off to destroy all evidence. Certain they’d get away with the crime. After all, Rajesh Shah was a Shiv Sena functionary. And Mihir a badey baap ka beta. Too bad, their gameplan backfired and today Mihir is in judicial custody after evading the law for 60 long hours, brazenly hiding in “safe” resorts, waiting for Daddyji to fix the bloody problem using his political clout. Well… had Kaveri’s husband not created a hue and cry, it’s doubtful chief minister Eknath Shinde would’ve intervened. Pradeep publicly pleaded for justice, pointing out he was just a poor man with no connections, desperate to get justice for his dead wife. He pointed out how not a single person, not even Devendra Fadnavis, had bothered to reach out to his family during their hours of emotional agony, while the brat was absconding with the help of his influential connections. Every trick in the book was cold-bloodedly employed by the accused and his parivar. The usual story: pay the driver to take the rap. Silence the resort owners who shielded the Shahs at Yeoor Hills Resort while they hid there, phones switched off, frantically arranging an elaborate coverup. Mihir promptly shaved his beard and changed his rakish appearance to evade being identified. Our cooperative cops gave the family enough time to organise “settings”, bribes, coverups, alibis and all else. Mumbai cops are known to be accommodating!

The game is up for the Shahs. But not quite. Cherchez the Family Shah. These are the twisted, crooked values they are passing on to their son. Vital evidence is still missing. Was Mihir drunk or not that night? The bar owners produced a receipt which shows 12 large pegs of Jack Daniel’s were consumed by Mihir and his co-brats. Initially, it was claimed Mihir had cans of Red Bull (an energy drink) and not hard alcohol. Who knows what else went into the mix that fatal night? Whatever it was, since no blood test could be done, it hardly matters.

The issue isn’t about drunken driving. It’s about arrogance.  Vedant Agarwal, the Pune brat whose speeding Porsche killed two young people on a motorbike, was supposedly under-age. Even there, it was his father and mother who tried to hush up matters, with the mother going to the extent of switching blood samples. In press reports, Mihir’s age varies from 23 to 27. He’s not underage. Too bad! Or else he too would have got away after writing a 300-word essay, as the Pune brat was asked to submit by the courts. This may be the most unique form of punishment in the world. Get behind the wheel of a car without a driving licence, kill two people, spend time inside a detention centre, not jail, work hard on your 300-word essay, and voila! You’re done.

In both cases, it’s the complicity of corrupt cops, following the orders of ruthless political masters, who in turn are indebted to their political bosses, that pains civil society. The entire machinery is rotten to the core: top to bottom. Rotten and immune, which is the worst part. As Pradeep Nakhawa said during his televised breakdown, nothing will happen to Mihir and people like him. For a while, thanks to public pressure, a fake show of concern from the authorities will be staged, safe in the knowledge that soon people will lose interest, and after a while, nobody will give a damn!

Goonda Raj in Maharashtra is brazen, blatant, and yet, not much can be done by citizens. The State can crush anyone. A compromised police force demoralises the public, especially during such incidents, where one sees how money power can fix every loophole in the system. CM Eknath Shinde, in response to public outrage, has announced a measly Rs 10 lakhs as financial aid to the Nakhawas. Mihir and gang must be laughing their guts out! That’s how much these bratty sons of so-called netas spend in a single night. This is the ugly breed of politicians which controls our city, our state. Uneducated, totally lacking in basic culture, devoid of moral values, they thrive on the powerlessness of the common man. As Pradeep pointed out: “Today, Shah will be sent to jail. Tomorrow he will be out on bail. Politicians don’t care for us. He has money. We have nothing.”

While we ponder over the latest miscarriage of justice, in a parallel development, Sheena Bora’s missing bones, declared “untraceable”, have been mysteriously located in the CBI’s record room (malkhana) in Delhi. Sheena Bora was allegedly killed on April 24, 2012. Her mother Indrani  (along with ex-husband Sanjeev Khanna and driver Shyamvar Rai) was charged with murder. The case is trundling along, with no end in sight. Amazing what key roles obliging drivers of the rich and infamous play in crimes these days.  But guess what… the CBI won’t use the newly-located bones as proof! Meanwhile, the court has received an email from a person claiming to be the brother of the forensic expert alleging the expert was paid “çrores” to lie about Sheena’s remains. It’s business as usual, folks. But don’t despair. Indrani Mukerjea, out on bail, is entertaining Insta followers with enticing reels, shot cabaret-style, which showcase her dancing skills and hot moves. Tauba! Tauba! Move over, Tripti Dimri. And you, too, Nora F.

Let’s call this jhamela the New India Syndrome. Money talks. Money sings. Money dances. Yes, paisa, in this vulgar version of a great nation, can buy anything and everything. But class.