Panaji, August 9: A magistrate's court at Ponda in Goa on Wednesday extended the police custody of businessman Paresh Sawardekar, arrested for allegedly mowing down three persons with his high-end car, till August 13. Sawardekar was arrested by police on Sunday after his Mercedes car hit five vehicles at Banastarim village near Panaji.

According to police, Sawardekar was prima facie driving drunk. In a related development, Sawardekar's wife Meghna was granted anticipatory bail by the Panaji district court. The court has fixed the matter for arguments on August 16, a police official said. Goa Road Accident: Speeding Mercedes SUV Rams Into Multiple Vehicles on Banastari Bridge in Ponda; Three Killed.

Banastarim villagers have demanded the arrest of Meghna Sawardekar claiming it was she who was at the wheel when the incident occurred. A day earlier, the court had denied bail to Paresh Sawardekar, saying the accused was well aware that driving in a drunken stage may be a culpable offence. Goa Road Accident: Three Dead After Speeding Luxury Car Rams Into Four Vehicles in Panaji, Driver Arrested.

The order denying bail to Sawardekar said that the “air blank test” of the accused indicates he had 94 mg/100 ml of alcohol in his blood at the time of the accident. This is thrice the permissible limit, a senior police official had said earlier. Sawardekar owns a chain of supermarkets and a real estate firm.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)