After hearing the quantum of sentence, 46-year old Devyani Shinde, the wife of Dinanath and mother of two, said she must be hanged to death or be awarded life term for the damage she caused due to driving rashly after consuming alcohol. “We are relieved but we had expected more. The woman should have been hanged to death so that youngsters do not break the law,” said Devyani, who lives in Dadar police colony.

The Shinde family didn’t wish to see Nooriya’s face and hence did not attend the court proceedings. The family is unable to forget the night when police officers arrived at their house to inform them about the accident. Devyani’s elder daughter Dipti (19) is a TYBcom student and 16-year-old son Siddhesh is in Class XI.

In Kurla, Zaid Mukhi, the brother-in-law of Afzal, who had been working as a manager with hotel Mezbaan, said the trial was not going to bring back his sister’s husband. “The woman must be hanged so that every person who drives under the influence of alcohol learns a lesson,” he said. “My sister has lost everything. She is so distraught that she has left Mumbai and now stays with our parents in Kashimira,” he said.

“Afzal was doing well financially. He had taken a loan of Rs 4 lakh before his death and was repaying it in installments. After his death, everything has collapsed. My niece Hadia asks for her father every day,” Zaid said. Afzal was stopped by the traffic police-sub-inspector at Princess Road to undergo a breathalyser test when Nooriya crashed into him.

After Shinde’s death, the family was allowed to stay in the 1BHK apartment at Dadar police colony for the next 10 years. “We get Rs 8,000 pension every month, which is a third of my husband’s salary,” said Devyani. With two children studying in college, their fees and daily expenses are a challenge.

Dipti said, “We are happy that the proceedings were conducted on a fast-track basis.”

High-Profile Cases

October 28, 2011: Actor Ronit Roy’s Mercedes crashed into a Wagon R in Andheri, injuring a couple and their two daughters. He took them to Kokilaben Hospital in a taxi and fled after getting them admitted. Officers arrested him from his residence and charged him with rash and negligent driving, and fleeing without informing the police.

January 30, 2010: A drunk 27-year-old Nooriya Haveliwala was arrested for killing two persons, one of them a police sub-inspector, and injuring four constables at Marine Lines. She first rammed her SUV into a police jeep and then two other vehicles post midnight.

January 4, 2008: Starlet Nisha Kothari knocked down a pregnant woman near Santacruz Airport. Heena Jamtani (26), who was hit when she was crossing the road, suffered a fracture above her right ankle. Kothari was detained and fined.

November 12, 2006: Drunk Alistair Pereira (21) crushed seven pavement dwellers and injured others sleeping on the Carter Road. In April 2007, a sessions court sentenced him to six months’ jail. In May 2007, he moved the HC, seeking acquittal, but was sentenced to 3 years’ imprisonment. In 2012, SC upheld the sentence.

April 9, 2006: John Abraham rammed his Yamaha bike into two teens riding a bicycle on Carter Road. He took the injured boys to hospital. The Bandra Metropolitan Magistrate Court sentenced him to 15 days’ simple imprisonment. In March this year, the sentence was confirmed by the sessions court but HC granted him bail.