Mumbai: A 30-year-old Jogeshwari woman was killed after a speeding tempo hit her while she was crossing the road at JVLR junction towards Meghwadi on Thursday night. Jogeshwari police later arrested driver Ramakant Yadav within three hours using CCTV footage. The victim, Lakshmi Shirkul, who worked for a private company, was returning from a birthday celebration at the Gateway of India with colleagues from her office. Around 11.10 pm, her colleague, L.G. Corea, dropped her near the northbound signal at JVLR junction. As she waited on the footpath for a vehicle to pass before crossing the road, a speeding tempo hit her and fled the spot.Corea, 34, who witnessed the incident, said, “I had dropped Shirkul at JVLR junction in my car. She was standing on the footpath, waiting for a car to pass. She was about to cross the road when a speeding tempo hit her. It happened right in front of my eyes.”According to Corea, he and Shirkul’s friend, Shilpa Rathod, were celebrating their birthdays on October 15. A few days earlier, another colleague, Sonali Desai, had informed him that their group had planned a celebration at the Gateway of India in Colaba. Shilpa, Sonali and Corea all worked with Shirkul at the same company.After the accident, Corea alerted personnel at a nearby traffic police outpost. Shirkul was taken to Trauma Care Hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead. Police said she had suffered severe injuries after the vehicle ran over her abdomen.Senior inspector Iqbal Shikalgar said the Crime Detection Squad examined CCTV footage from the area and identified the tempo’s registration number. Police then seized the vehicle, traced its driver and arrested Yadav after questioning him. Police said Yadav confessed to his involvement in the accident.
