Mumbai: Former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was on Sunday killed in a road accident after his car hit a divider in Maharashtra's Palghar district neighbouring Mumbai, a police official said. He was 54. Mistry was travelling from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a Mercedes car, he said.
The car was driven by Mumbai gynaecologist Anahita Pandole (55) when it crashed on a road divider on Sunday, killing Cyrus Mistry and another occupant of the vehicle, police said. Anahita Pandole (55), and her husband Darius Pandole (60) survived the crash, while Mistry and Jahangir Pandole, brother of Darius, were killed in the accident, which happened around 3 pm, about 120 km from Mumbai, the official said.
Primary information suggests that the car was overspeeding and tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side (from the left), a police official said. Mistry and Jahangir were in the back seats, the official said. Darius was in the front seat with Anahita, who was at the wheel, he said.
According to an eyewitness, a woman was driving the car and tried to overtake another vehicle from the left side, but lost control and crashed into the road divider, an eyewitness said. The eyewitness, who works in a roadside garage, told a Marathi TV channel: We rushed to the accident spot but did not touch the vehicle or the injured persons.
"In 10 minutes, help came and two injured persons were pulled out from the car and shifted by an ambulance to the hospital. The other two were dead," he said.
"The accident took place around 3 pm when four people were travelling to Mumbai from Ahmedabad in a Mercedes car," Palghar SP Balasaheb Patil said. "Two persons died on the spot while two others are injured. The accident took place on a bridge over the Surya river," he said. All the injured persons have been shifted to a hospital to Rainbow hospital, the SP added.
Also read: Who was Cyrus Mistry? Five facts about former Tata Sons Chairman who died in a car crash today
Mistry's body has been shifted to the Kasa Rural Hospital for postmortem. Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis, meanwhile, has asked police to conduct a detailed investigation into the road accident.
Soon after the news of Mistry's death, condolence messages started pouring in on social media. PM Narendra Modi called him a promising business leader. "The untimely demise of Shri Cyrus Mistry is shocking. He was a promising business leader who believed in India’s economic prowess. His passing away is a big loss to the world of commerce and industry. Condolences to his family and friends. May his soul rest in peace," the PM tweeted.
Union Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal tweeted his condolences, terming Mistry one of the "shining stars" of Indian industry. "Deeply anguished & shocked by the sudden passing away of Cyrus Mistry. Indian industry has lost one of its shining stars whose contributions to India's economic progress will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family & friends," Goyal tweeted.
