The Pandoles, who were travelling with business tycoon Cyrus Mistry, owned the soft-drink company Duke’s. Dr Anahita Pandole, who was driving the Mercedes, is a well-known gynaecologist from Mumbai. She and her husband Darius survived the crash. However, Mistry and Darius’ brother Jehangir died
Dr Anahita Pandole, who was driving the Mercedes that met with an accident, is a top gynaecologist and obstetrician from Mumbai. She survived the crash. Image courtesy: Jame Jamshed/Facebook
In a fateful car crash on Sunday, Cyrus Mistry, scion of the multi-billion dollar Shapoorji Pallonji Group and former head of Tata Sons, died. The 54-year-old was travelling back to Mumbai along with three others – Dr Anahita Pandole, her husband Darius Pandole and Jehangir Pandole, the brother of Darius – from a religious function in Gujarat’s Udvada, a Parsi pilgrim town.
Dr Anahita Pandole was reportedly driving the Mercedes when it crashed into a divider on a bridge on the Surya river at Charoti Naka in Palghar, 120 km away from Mumbai. The car was speeding and tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side (the left), a police officer told PTI.
Mistry and Jehangir Pandole who were in the back seat died. The couple who was grievously injured in the crash was admitted to Rainbow Hospital in Vapi. The two are going to be airlifted to Mumbai today. Mistry was not wearing a seat belt, according to media reports.
Also read: From Cyrus Mistry to Princess Diana: Road accident deaths that shook the world
The four had visited the main Fire Temple of the Parsi community in Udvada to pray for the father of the Pandole brothers, who died recently.
Who are the Pandoles and how did Mistry know them?
Dr Anahita Pandole, the Mumbai doctor driving the Mercedes
Dr Anahita Pandole, 54 who was behind the wheel, is a top gynaecologist and obstetrician from Mumbai. She is associated with Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital and had a keen interest in infertility management, high-risk obstetrics and endoscopy surgery.
She worked tirelessly to address the issue of population decline in the Parsi community and in January 2004, joined hands with the Bombay Parsi Panchayet, the apex body representing the Parsi community in Mumbai to spearhead the Bombay Parsi Panchyet Fertility Project. It provided fertility treatment to couples from the community at subsidised rates and provided them access to state-of-the-art medical facilities, reports NDTV.
In 2013, the Ministry of Minority Affairs launched the Jiyo Parsi Scheme to improve the fertility rate of the community and Dr Pandole played a key role in helping shape the medical component of this initiative. She continues to guide the Jiyo Parsi team on the medical front.
Apart from her achievements in her profession, Dr Pandole is a vocal citizen and an activist, who continues to campaign for the removal of illegal hoardings and posters in Mumbai. She has taken on Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation and her fight ensured that the civic body installs two toll-free lines for citizens to report hoardings, banners, and posters, which crop up across the city.
The car was speeding and tried to overtake another vehicle from the wrong side when it crashed. Mistry, who was in the back seat, was reportedly not wearing a seat belt. PTI
The Pandoles who owned Duke
Dr Pandole’s husband Darius was the in the passenger seat next to the driver’s when the car crash. The 60-year-old is the managing director and chief executive officer of Mumbai-based JM Financial Private Equity.
He was also an independent director in Tata group firms and among those who opposed the removal of Mistry as Tata Sons chairman. He resigned from the post when Mistry was ousted in October 2016.
Darius is a known name in the investment banking circles.
Darius Pandole and Cyrus Mistry were childhood friends. Darius was on the board of e board of Tata Global Beverages Limited but resigned after Mistry was ousted. Image courtesy: Tata Global Beverages
Seated in the back seat with Mistry, was Jehangir Pandole who also died in the tragic crash.
Jehangir Pandole was the director of the global strategy group at KPMG’s London office in the United Kingdom.
The Pandole family owned Duke’s, the maker of soft drinks like Mangola. Darius managed the family business before making a foray into banking. He is credited with leading the negotiations that resulted in the sale of the business to PepsiCo in 1994, reports The Indian Express.
Both the Pandole brothers were squash champions in their younger days. Jehangir was a professional squash player and was selected to represent India at the Asian Junior Squash Championships in 1991.
The Mistry-Pandole friendship
The two families have been old friends. Cyrus Mistry and Darius knew each other since childhood. They studied at the Cathedral and John Connon School in Mumbai.
Cyrus Mistry’s funeral will be held at a crematorium in Worli, Mumbai on Tuesday. PTI
Cyrus and the Pandole brothers lost their fathers earlier this year. Cyrus’s father Pallonji Mistry died in June 2022 and the Pandole brothers lost their father Dinshaw Pandole just a week ago, according to a report in The Indian Express.
Dr Anahita Pandole has suffered a hip fracture and pneumothorax (collapsed lung). Her condition is reportedly stable.
Darius Pandole sustained a bilateral jaw fracture because of which his airway got obstructed. After receiving medical attention, he is now stable.
The bodies of Cyrus Mistry and Jehangir Pandole will be taken to Mumbai’s JJ Hospital, where a post-mortem will be conducted. Mistry’s last rites will be performed on Tuesday at a crematorium in Worli.
With inputs from agencies
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