Senior police inspector Laxman Gore said: “We received a complaint from Lalji Yadav, 35, and his wife Geeta of threats and abuses they had been getting over a dispute from Kamlesh Maurya, who works as a driver for a tour service. After registering a non-cognisable complaint, we sent constables Pawar and Sonawane with Yadav to Prem Nagar to warn Maurya.”

Yadav recieved a call from Maurya on his cellphone even as the policemen were making enquiries. “Maurya abused Yadav for going to the police with his complaint and threatened him with dire consequences. When the phone was handed over to one of the constables by Yadav, Maurya abused him too and threatened to teach them a lesson,” Gore said.

Within minutes of the conversation, a Tavera sped from the direction of Hyper City mall and rammed into the policemen. The two constables were flung into the air, though Yadav was unhurt. The vehicle raced on and mowed down five pedestrians.

The injured were rushed to a private hospital in Andheri and Cooper Hospital. “Both constables had suffered multiple fractures. Pawar died after admission, while Sonawane is still unconscious and critically injured,” Gore said.

The five residents of Prem Nagar admitted to Cooper Hospital have been identified as Birbal Yadav, 35, Ranjeet Yadav, 30, Biharilal Maurya, 45, Santosh Gupta, 29, and Sikandar Yadav, 28. Their condition is stable, according to hospital sources.

After the hit-and-run, the Tavera sped off towards Borivali. It was intercepted by officials from the MHB police station near the Dahisar subway. Maurya was arrested and later handed over to Goregaon police.

At the Goregaon police station, Yadav’s wife Geeta said: “When Maurya had called my husband, he was drunk; that was clear from his speech.”

Pawar’s family had gone to Ghatkopar for his funeral and could be contacted for comment.

The dispute

Kamlesh Maurya, who had got a job as a driver with a tour vehicle service on Yadav’s reference, had been involved in an accident a year ago and his medical bills had run up to Rs 1.2 lakh, according to a statement filed by Lalji Yadav. Maurya had approached his employer for a loan but was turned down.