Police in Chhattisgarh, investigating the death of 24-year-old Mumbai biker Riddhi Thakkar, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Balod district on August 12 while participating in a women bikers’ rally to Bastar, said they are also probing the role of the organisers to determine if there was any lapse on their part.

The incident had sparked outrage on social media, particularly among bikers and friends of Riddhi, who knew her to be a highly skilled rider. Several people had posted videos questioning the organisers’ responsibility, with some seeking accountability from the Chhattisgarh-based Women Riders Club.

Some videos were also posted to counter this narrative, including two by Nandini Titre and Sidra Khan, who were among the 22 women bikers participating in the rally. In videos posted on their Instagram accounts, Khan and Titre said they were pained by the accident but that it was not right to blame them.

Speaking to , Titre said, “There were riders from Nagpur, Pune, Bhopal and Chhattisgarh in the group. On August 12, we left Raipur at around 3.45 am for Kanker. Around 4.30 am, one of the riders from Bhopal met with an accident due to a bovine on the road. A rider from Nagpur riding an Avenger then collided with her. Both riders were taken in a backup van. Around 5.20 am, another accident took place, and we received a call about it at 5.26 am. Since there were 16 bikes in our group, we could not wait on the ghat. All our bikes waited for 20 minutes at the end of the ghat. We rode ahead and waited at a breakfast point around 30 km away. After two accidents, we decided to call off our rally. Around 9.07 am, we were informed by our rider that Riddhi had died.”

The second accident mentioned by Titre was Riddhi’s. The Avenger mentioned by Titre was being ridden by Riddhi at the time. Riddhi’s father, Divyesh, had raised the question of why she was not riding her own Bullet.

The rally was organised by Amita Bais and Chhaya Singh through their club, Women Riders Club. It was their inaugural rally, Amita said.

Explaining how the accident occurred and why Riddhi was riding an Avenger, Amita said, “I was driving about 50 feet behind her, as I was the tail for the rally. The spot where the accident took place was a C-shaped curve; it was a blind spot. A truck coming from the opposite lane ran over her and fled the spot. It all happened in three to four seconds. I called the lead, and we immediately called the ambulance and rushed Riddhi to a hospital within seven to eight minutes.”

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Talking about the sequence of events before the accident, Amita said, “The brake lever of the Avenger had become loose after the first accident, and Riddhi wanted to ride it. We told her two to three times that we could not allow that and that there was no need to ride it and that we could get it towed, but she insisted. Chhaya had also caught hold of the bike’s handle, not allowing Riddhi to ride, but she insisted. As she was an experienced and skilled rider and had driven all the way from Mumbai, we did not want to upset her, as it was the first day of our rally. She drove the Avenger for over 20 to 25 kilometres, after which the accident took place. We were to leave that bike after another 20-odd kilometres.”

Some women bikers who were part of the rally and did not wish to be named said Riddhi was a vlogger and was using a GoPro camera mounted on her helmet.

Superintendent of Police, Balod district, Kiran Chavan, said, “We had registered an FIR against an unidentified driver. We are also probing the role of organisers.”

also reached out to Riddhi’s father, Divyesh, on Monday. “We do not know who is responsible for the accident. But our family is still not recovered from the loss,” he said.

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Amita said she had been facing considerable backlash on social media after the accident. “I have received a lot of disturbing messages on social media blaming us for the incident. Even though this was the first rally under the Women Riders Club, we have organised five bike rallies, and we are very strict with the rules,” she said.

On the night of the accident, an FIR was registered under Sections 106(1) (causing death by negligence) and 281 (rash driving on a public way) of the BNS, and Section 184 (dangerous driving) of the Motor Vehicles Act, against an unknown driver. The truck driver is yet to be arrested.