PTI

Mumbai, Nov 12: Six persons, including two children, were killed and eight others injured when they were run over by a car on Carter Road in Bandra, Mumbai, in the wee hours today.

The incident happened around 3:45 am, the police said, adding that the victims, construction workers from Tamil Nadu, were sleeping on the pavement when a Toyota Corolla mowed them over.

The living area of the families of the deceased seen destroyed by the accident, while the second pic shows the families mourning the deaths (Courtesy Times)

"Three youths have been arrested, of which two, including the driver, tested positive for alcohol," Additional Commissioner of Police (West region) Bipin Bihari said. The accused were returning from a private party, he added.

A case has been registered against Aliston Pereira, (21) who was driving the car, Calvin (18) and Jacob, all residents of Bandra, at Khar police station.

A five-year-old boy and a seven-year-old girl, three women and a man were among the dead, while six men and two women were injured, the police said, adding that the injured were admitted to Bhabha Hospital in Bandra.

Although eyewitnesses spoke of the driver being drunk, police said they would be able to comment only after medical examination of those arrested.

NDTV adds:

Rash driving

There were reportedly six people in the car at the time of the accident. Three of them, all young men between the ages of 18 and 21, have been arrested and are being questioned at the Khar Police station in Mumbai.

Police said the six were returning from Taj hotel and there was a liquor bottle in the car.

''We found a bottle of alcohol in the car. The person driving was Alister Pereira, who we have charged with culpable homicide under Section 304 and other sections of the IPC. This is a non bailable offence," said VK Choubey, DCP Zone 9, Mumbai.

"The other two arrested are Ken Roy Jacob and Craig Pereira who have been charghed with sections of the Prohibition Act. There were three other people in the car who we are looking for. One of them is a girl,'' he added.

Earlier cases

This is the latest incident in a series of road rage across Mumbai where sleeping pavement dwellers have often been at the receiving end.

And in most of these cases, celebrities and professionals have been involved.

In September 2002, Salman Khan's Toyota Land Cruiser rammed a bakery in suburban Bandra on September 28, killing one person and injuring four others who were sleeping outside.

In August 2005, industrialist Manish Khatau ran over constable Jitendra Rokade at Marine Drive change.

In February 2006, Neel Chatterjee, a banker with Standard Chartered allegedly run over a watchman, Ramakant Dhuri, in Mumbai's Prabha Devi area. (With PTI inputs)