Cyrus Mistry case: Everything you need to know about Anahita Pandole

Pandole was driving the car that met with a fatal accident killing former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry

On Wednesday, Kasa police filed a chargesheet against well-known gynaecologist Dr Anahita Pandole stating that her negligence while driving and dangerous overtaking led to the fatal accident on September 4 in which former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was killed. The Mercedes Benz that she was driving met with the mishap near the Surya river overbridge on Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway in Palghar district in Maharashtra.

The chargesheet further stated that Pandole had neither fastened her seat belt properly nor had she ensured that her co-passengers were buckled up. In the accident, Pandole's husband Darius sustained multiple injuries. Their friend Jahangir Pandole, global strategy director at KPMG, was the second casualty in the accident.

On November 5, 2022, an FIR was registered against Pandole for various traffic violations including rash driving, negligence, overspeeding and overtaking.  

Pandole was discharged from the hospital in December, 108 days after her admission.

Who is Anahita Pandole?

The 55-year-old doctor is among the most renowned gynaecologists in Mumbai. She has been a specialist for 25 years and has 32 years of experience as a doctor, in total. She is associated with Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, BD Petit Parsee General Hospital, and Masina Hospital.

Pandole is widely credited for preserving the Parsi heritage in the city. 

According to Indian Express (IE), she played a key role in the ideation and formulation of the Jiyo Parsi programme, a government-funded scheme to help infertile couples from the Parsi community become parents. Pandole provides fertility treatments to Parsi parents at subsidised rates. The fact that the Parsi population in the city has been declining and the fertility rate has gone below 1, makes Pandole's contribution more valuable.

In 2004, Pandole started the Bombay Parsi Panchyet Fertility Project with Bombay Parsi Panchyet to provide state-of-the-art facilities to the community. 

Moreover, she also helped in creating a database of Parsis living in India for the Ministry of Minority Affairs.

Also, she has regularly raised her voice against illegal hoardings in the city. Just a week before her accident in September, she wrote to Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) opposing the hoardings on footpaths along the Western Express Highway. She said they could pose a threat to motorists.