Journalist injured In Navi Mumbai Hit-And-Run
A Navi Mumbai-based journalist and women’s rights activist was seriously injured in a hit-and-run accident on Palm Beach Road after a speeding biker allegedly jumped a red signal and rammed into her scooty.
Sandhya Jain, 56, who edits the magazines Women Zone and Kanchan Kanika, has been undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in Seawoods for the past several days with multiple fractures, facial injuries and trauma.
According to Jain, the accident occurred on May 18 near the NRI Junction on Palm Beach Road while she was travelling to the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation headquarters in Belapur.
“As per CCTV recordings, the biker wearing a maroon shirt jumped the red signal and crashed into my scooty while my signal was green,” Jain said from her hospital bed.
She alleged that after the collision, the biker lifted his motorcycle and fled the scene while she lay unconscious on the road.
Police registered an FIR against an unidentified biker for reckless driving, but officials admitted that poor CCTV camera quality has made it difficult to identify the accused as the motorcycle’s registration number was not clearly captured.
Investigating officer Kiran Swar from NRI police station said police have examined CCTV footage from the area, but the bike number plate remains unclear in the recordings.
The incident has sparked criticism over the effectiveness of Navi Mumbai’s surveillance infrastructure, especially on major roads like Palm Beach Road where multiple CCTV cameras are installed.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Commissioner Kailas Shinde said that while the civic body maintains a CCTV monitoring system, police are the primary users of the surveillance network for traffic enforcement and investigations.
Social activists and local residents have questioned the quality of the surveillance system, demanding installation of better high-definition cameras equipped with advanced identification technology.
Authorities said further investigation into the hit-and-run case is ongoing.
