After Mumbai biker Riddhi Thakkar’s death in hit-and-run, kin say things don’t add up | Mumbai News

“She had bought this expensive bike on her own, four years ago. And had been on multiple rides on this particular bike, including many solo trips, which she enjoyed the most,” said her father, Divyesh Thakkar, who runs a cosmetics business.

Stating that police are investigating the case, Superintendent of Police, Balod district, Kiran Chavan said, “We are tracing the said trailer, but with it being a forest area, it’s becoming difficult. Additionally, we are also talking to other riders from the group to get more information on the vehicle that she was riding.”

Amita Bais, one of the organisers of the Tiranga Ride, told i that Riddhi was riding a different bike belonging to another rider, which was damaged after having skidded, which damaged its brakes. And that Riddhi volunteered to ride it despite the organiser’s objection to it.

“Soon after the ride began from Raipur, a rider from Nagpur crashed while riding an Avenger, damaging the bike’s braking system. Riddhi volunteered to ride it by saying that she could do it with her experience. No doubt about her skills, but I told her that we cannot allow this, particularly because there are hilly stretches and ghats ahead. But she insisted that she will ride only up to the nearest halt point, before the ghats begin,” said Amita, who says that she herself has riding experience of nearly two decades, but has started organising rides a few years ago.

Riddhi was among 20 women bikers from across India invited for the ride. According to her father, she was due to return to Mumbai on August 18. The rally itself had not begun when the accident occurred.

“The Tiranga rally, for which she went to Chhattisgarh, had not even started when this accident occurred. They were only heading to the destination on Wednesday,” said Divyesh.

For a family that had grown accustomed to Riddhi’s long rides, her regular updates were a source of reassurance. Divyesh showed their WhatsApp conversation, where she would share her live location, details of her route and information about the hotels where she planned to stay.

“She would always tell me how I should not have to worry about her ever,” he said.

Divyesh and other family members travelled to Chhattisgarh after receiving news of the accident. He thanked the local administration for helping them complete the formalities and bring her body back without having to travel away from Raipur, where they had landed.

For now, the family is focused on bringing Riddhi home. Divyesh said he was not considering legal action over the motorcycle discrepancy at this stage.

“This is a huge loss for our family. We will decide later if we want to take any steps on that front,” he said.

Riddhi was not only a biker. She was a makeup artist and content creator who had built a career in the entertainment industry. She developed an interest in makeup during the COVID lockdown, despite her father having been in the cosmetics business for nearly 25 years.

She went on to work with a team of makeup artists for Gadar 2 and won prizes at international makeup competitions. She was planning to travel to London to study prosthetic makeup after returning from the Chhattisgarh ride.

“Now it will not be needed,” her father said.

Divyesh, who lives in Kandivali with his mother, had lost his wife to a prolonged illness last year. His son Meet has been living in Canada for more than seven years, and the family is now waiting for him to return for Riddhi’s last rites.