Nagpur: Public outrage intensified on Saturday, June 14, as the family members of Yogesh Tulsiram Bopche, the 29-year-old labourer killed in the Chinchbhuvan BMW hit-and-run case, staged a protest outside Beltarodi Police Station, demanding the immediate arrest of accused Avantikumar Kothari.

Kothari, the owner of the BMW (HP 89 A 1592) that fatally knocked down Bopche in the early hours of June 9, was traced and booked by police on Friday, June 13. However, citing technicalities in a Supreme Court judgment, Beltarodi police have not arrested him, triggering strong backlash from the victim’s family and local residents.

According to police, Kothari, a resident of Darodkar Square, Central Avenue, had purchased the luxury vehicle from a Mumbai-based car dealer, Shahrukh Tahir Khan. After the incident, Kothari reportedly fled Nagpur with his family and switched off his mobile phone. Investigators were eventually able to track him using the call detail records (CDR) of an alternate number.

The fatal crash occurred around 3 am on June 9 (Sunday) near Chinchbhuvan Square. The BMW, allegedly driven at high speed, hit Yogesh Bopche and his relative Bhojendra Khobragade (55), residents of Jagdish Nagar, Gittikhadan, as they were walking along the road. While Bopche succumbed to his injuries at AIIMS, Khobragade remains in critical condition.

Eyewitnesses said the vehicle sped away after the crash but stopped a short distance ahead after a tyre burst. The driver abandoned the vehicle and fled. Locals who reached the car reported liquor bottles inside the cabin, raising suspicion of drunken driving.

Bopche’s death has left his family devastated. He was the sole earning member, and is survived by his wife and two sons — Chirag (5) and Kiyan (5 months).

Despite registering a case and tracing the accused, the police’s delay in arresting Kothari has sparked criticism, with citizens accusing authorities of going soft on the rich and influential. Protesters on Saturday demanded justice and immediate legal action, warning of intensified agitation if the police failed to act decisively.