Mumbai:

A retired customs commissioner has alleged that Dr Ajay Taware, arrested in the Porsche crash case in Pune, had manipulated the gender test report of the former’s daughter-in-law in a marital dispute five years ago.

Dr Taware, head of the department of forensic medicine at Sassoon General Hospital, and two others were arrested earlier this week for allegedly swapping the blood samples of the minor accused of crashing a Porsche into a motorbike in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar and killing two persons.

Talking to PTI on Thursday, the retired official claimed that the doctor had played a role in fudging the gender test report of his estranged daughter-in-law.

He filed a complaint against Taware and others with the Medical Council of India as well as the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra but no action was taken, he said.

The customs official’s son got married in 2013, but his daughter-in-law refused to have sexual relations with her husband, he said.

When he checked her medical history and birth certificate at Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), her birthplace, the official found that she was born a male in 1984. After ten years, the municipal corporation issued a new birth certificate mentioning her gender as female.

The daughter-in-law filed a case of dowry harassment against the family and the matter landed in a court in Andheri here.

In 2018, the court ordered a gender test of the woman. It was conducted at Sassoon Hospital in Pune, and a medical panel which included Dr Taware gave a report in February 2019 that she was “phenotypically and genotypically female”, the official said.

The test should have been conducted in Aurangabad, not in Pune, and Dr Taware manipulated the report, he claimed.

“If the car crash case gets transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, I will submit all the evidence against Dr Taware and others,” the former commissioner said.

Notably, in 2022, the Maharashtra government had suspended the regional organ transplant authorization committee at Pune of which Dr Taware was a member, after a racket related to kidney transplant approvals came to light.

Dr Taware is currently in the custody of Pune police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Pune:

Days after the Pune Porsche incident in which two people were killed, a 28-year-old man in Pimpri Chinchwad of Pune district died on the spot after being hit by a speeding car.

The police later arrested the accused. The incident was caught on CCTV.

Pimpri Chinchwad Police, in a press statement, said that the incident occurred on May 27 at around 1.30 am on service road alongside the Pune-Bangalore highway in the Wakad area of Pimpari Chinchwad.

The 28-year-old Angad Giri was dashed by a speeding car while crossing the road which caused his death on the spot.

The whole incident was also caught on camera. Police have identified the car and its driver 20-year-old Vedant Rai and registered a case against him at Hinjewadi Police station under IPC sections of 304 (A), 338 ,337 ,270 along with Motor Vehicle act of 184 ,119 / 177.

The accused was arrested on May 28.

In the Porsche car incident, a minor ploughed his luxury car into the two IT professionals, who were travelling on a bike, killing them on the spot. Two young IT professionals from Madhya Pradesh, identified as Ashwini Koshta and Aneesh Awadhia, were killed in the accident on the night of May 19.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi/Pune:

The peon, who was arrested in the Pune Porsche crash case yesterday along with two doctors for allegedly manipulating the blood test report of the 17-year-old accused, handed Rs 3 lakh bribe to the doctors, sources have said.

Sources say the peon, Atul Ghatkamble, acted as the middleman and collected Rs 3 lakh bribe meant for the two doctors from the teen’s family.

Dr Ajay Tawade and Dr Hari Harnor of Sasoon Hospital were arrested yesterday by the Pune Crime Branch.

Investigation has revealed Dr Tawade and the teen accused’s father spoke over the phone on the day of the accident. “The juvenile’s father had called the doctor and offered him allurements to replace the blood samples,” police said.

Dr Taware has hinted at the minor blood samples being replaced by the blood samples of a doctor, it’s learnt. Officials said the samples were swapped to remove the traces of alcohol.

“I will not keep quiet. I will take everyone’s name,” he said during the investigation.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had yesterday said that the samples collected at the hospital and sent for forensic tests were not of the juvenile accused.

“Around 11 am on May 19, a blood sample (of the teen) that was taken at Sassoon Hospital was thrown in a dustbin and the blood sample of another person was taken and sent to the forensic lab. During the investigation, we found CMO Srihari Halnor replaced this on the instructions of Ajay Tawade, HOD of forensic medicine department at Sassoon Hospital,” Mr Kumar had said while addressing the media.

As the minor’s blood samples were replaced, the report which was received on Sunday showed no traces of alcohol. However, CCTV footage from one of the bars he visited that night showed him drinking with friends.

Two young IT professionals were killed after their motorcycle was hit by the speeding Porsche allegedly driven by the 17-year-old boy in the early hours of May 19 in Pune.

The Porsche, believed to have been at over 200 km per hour speed, hit the bike on which two 24-year-old techies were returning home after a party. Ashwini was thrown about 20 feet in the air and landed hard, said an eyewitness. Aneesh was thrown at a parked car and suffered serious injuries. Both died on the spot.

Pune:

The Pune crash, where two techies were killed after being hit by a Porsche, has gripped the entire nation with the police investigation unveiling a new twist every day. Pune Police today revealed that the family of the 17-year-old who was allegedly driving the car made efforts to pin the blame on a driver.

Two engineers — Ashwini Kostha and Anish Awadhiya — were on the bike when the Porsche, being driven at 200 km per hour, hit their bike from behind. The two died on the spot. Police have said the 17-year-old accused, son of a prominent Pune realtor, was heavily drunk at the time of the accident.

Minutes after the accident, the teen’s father called the driver and offered him a reward in lieu of a cash reward. They asked the driver to switch places with the boy and tell the police that he was driving the car.

When the driver turned down the offer, they tried to threaten him into accepting that he was behind the wheel when the accident took place, police said.

“The teen’s family driver was offered allurements and later threatened to take the blame for the Porsche crash,” Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said in a press conference today.

The driver has filed a police complaint where he also claims that the teen’s grandfather locked him up and did not allow him to go home for two days. Police have registered a kidnapping case and arrested the grandfather.

“The teen’s grandfather and father allegedly took the driver’s phone and put him in confinement in his house on the premises of their bungalow from May 19 to May 20. The driver was freed by his wife,” said an official from the crime branch, which is probing the case.

Cops said that they have CCTV footage and other evidence to prove that the teen, who was drunk, was driving the Porsche. The boy had gone out to celebrate with his friends after passing his Class 12 board exams.  

After partying at a posh Pune club, where they ran up a bill of Rs 48,000, the boy fought with the driver for the keys of the car. The driver initially resisted, but allowed the teen to drive after a call with the boy’s father.

Driving at 200 kmph, the teen crashed into a bike killing two 24-year-old software engineers from Madhya Pradesh. He was taken into custody by police at 3 am, and granted bail within 15 hours on the conditions seen as flimsy. He was asked to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, told to work with traffic cops for 15 days, and seek counselling for his drinking habit.

But the Juvenile Justice Board later modified the order and sent him to a remand home till June 5. The police have requested the board permission to try the teen as an adult.

The case has sparked outrage across the nation with several protests being held seeking swift justice.

Pune:

The grandfather of the Pune teen, who ran over two 24-year-old techies in a late-night drunken dash in a Porsche, has been arrested after the family’s driver alleged that he was wrongfully confined, threatened and told to take the blame for the accident, sources in the police have said. He has been charged under IPC sections relating to kidnapping and wrongful confinement, the sources added.

Pune Police yesterday said efforts were made to force the driver to take blame minutes after the accident. After the accident, the grandfather locked up the driver and asked him to take the blame as the family tried to shield the minor, the sources said. He also told him that the family would ensure he is released too, the sources added.

“The teen’s grandfather and father allegedly took the driver’s phone, put him in confinement in his house on the premises of their bungalow from May 19 to May 20. The driver was freed by his wife,” said an official from the crime branch, which is probing the case.

Two engineers — Ashwini Kostha and Anish Awadhiya — were on the bike when the Porsche, being driven at 200 km per hour, hit their bike from behind. The two died on the spot. Police have said the 17-year-old accused, son of a prominent Pune realtor, was heavily drunk at the time of the accident. He was granted bail within 15 hours of the accident on the conditions seen as flimsy. He was asked to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, told to work with traffic cops for 15 days and seek counselling for his drinking habit.

Amid nationwide outrage, the Juvenile Justice Board later modified the order and sent him to an observation home till a police plea for permission to try him as an adult is decided. The boy’s father and staff of two bars the teenager visited that night were also arrested under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.

The case has also brought under the spotlight the family’s links with the underworld. 

The matter dates back to a 2009 attack on a Shiv Sena corporator Ajay Bhosale. According to the CBI chargesheet filed in the case, the boy’s grandfather was locked in a property dispute with his brother and had allegedly contacted Chhota Rajan to mediate. The gangster got in touch with Shiv Sena corporator Ajay Bhosale, who knew the brother. But Mr Bhosale was busy with the Assembly polls that year and refused to intervene. The boy’s grandfather suspected that the Shiv Sena leader was backing his brother and allegedly asked Chhota Rajan to bump him off, the CBI chargesheet said. The Shiv Sena leader’s car was fired at near Pune’s Koregaon Park, but the bullet missed him and hit his driver instead, injuring him.

Mr Bhosale, who is now with the Eknath Shinde-led Sena, has told NDTV that his ‘supari’ was given by the builder, who is not being named because the accused in the Porsche case is a minor. The grandfather was also listed as an accused in the chargesheet, but not arrested. The attempt to murder case is now part of a bunch of cases against Chhota Rajan pending before a Mumbai CBI court.

Pune:

The mother of the 17-year-old boy who allegedly fatally knocked down two persons with his high-end Porsche car has appealed to the police to “protect” her son after a video purportedly featuring him, boasting about how he got away with the accident, went viral.

In a video message, the teen’s mother stressed that the clip had nothing to do with her son and that it was fake.

“The video which is being circulated is not of my son. That is a fake video. My son is in the detention centre,” says the teen’s mother in her message.

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Appealing to the police to “protect” her son, the mother breaks down, and shows her video message. Unable to gather herself, she then walks away from the camera.

A rap song purportedly featuring the teenager, boasting about how he got away with the car crash, went viral on social media, but Pune police have clarified that it was a fake account and that the teenager had no role in the video.

Later, it was found that the rap video was of a social media influencer.

ALSO READ | Pune Teen’s Porsche Crash Puts Spotlight On Supari Case Against Grandfather

A Porsche, allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk at the time, fatally knocked down two motorbike-borne software engineers in the city in the early hours of Sunday.

The teenager was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) which granted him bail while asking him to write a 300-word essay.

Following an outcry over quick bail and the police’s review plea, the JJB on Wednesday remanded the teen, son of real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, to the observation home till June 5.

The police have also arrested the teenager’s father in connection with the case.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

She kept her composure for the first few questions. But gave in at the fourth minute and burst into tears. The woman was answering questions about her son, who was killed in the horrific Porsche crash in Pune in the early hours of Sunday.

“Usne mere bachhe ki jaan le li. Mera bachha mujhse door ho gaya. Ab kabhi nahi mil paaungi main usse (He killed my son. Now, I will never be able to meet my son),” said a crying Savitha Awadhiya, mother of Aneesh Awadhiya who died in the accident. 

Three days after bail was granted to the Pune teenager upon the condition that he write an essay on accidents, the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday modified its order and sent him to a remand home till June 5.

“Ladke ki galti hai, hatya bhi keh sakte hai usko. Kyunki agar usne itni badi galti nahi ki hoti toh aaj kisi ki jaan na jaati. Agar thoda bhi uske ghar waalo ne mana kiya hota ki aisa nahi karte hain toh aaj mere bete ki jaan bachi hoti. Ye seedhe seedhe hatya kehlati hai  (“It is the boy’s mistake, you can even call it murder, because if he had not made such a big mistake, no one would have died. If only his family members had paid attention, then today my son would have been alive. This is straight up murder,” said Ms Awadhiya.

The 17-year-old Pune boy, celebrating his Class 12 results, was drinking with his friends hours before the accident, showed a video. CCTV footage from Cosie bar showed happy scenes all around with the table crowded with alcohol bottles.

“Kadi se kadi saja milni chahiye. Bahut bachane ki koshish kar rahe hai woh apne bachhe ko. Paise waale hain isiliye sochte hain ki hum apne bachhe ko kahin se bhi bacha ke nikal sakte hain. Lekin mera bachha toh gaya hai na (He should face strictest punishment. They are trying very hard to save him. They are people with money and think can save their son. But my son died),” she said, appealing to the Maharashtra government to help her get justice.

The Pune police commissioner said it is clear that the boy, son of a prominent realtor, was driving under the influence of alcohol. Several witnesses have said the teenager and his friends were heavily drunk.

The police are trying to build a watertight case, the top cop said on Tuesday. 

“He visited us in May on the 3rd. It was my anniversary. So he was visiting us. He left on the 5th,” said Ms Awadhiya on her last meeting with her son, adding “woh bahut achha bachha tha, sabko apna bana leta tha (He was a good child. He was nice to everyone)”.

“Woh bola mumma aapke liye main gift leke aaya hoon Dubai se. Chocolate aur khajoor. Toh main aaunga aap logon ko dene. Jaldi hi aane wala hoon. Lekin woh ho nahi paya (He told me that he had got gifts for me: chocolates and dates. I will visit you soon. But that was not to be),” she said.

The father of the teenager has been remanded in police custody for two days. The realtor was arrested on Tuesday from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra, where he had allegedly gone to evade the cops.

New Delhi:

The 17-year-old boy who was driving the speeding Porsche that hit a bike in Pune on Saturday night, killing two techies in their 20s, was out on bail 15 hours after he was arrested.

The quick bail in a case where two people have died has triggered a huge outrage, with the police saying that efforts are on to try the teen as an adult.

Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told NDTV that the police are trying to prove a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder where there is knowledge that the act could cause death.

Referring to the bail order passed by the Juvenile Justice board on Sunday, Mr Kumar said that the accused in his plea mentioned that he is an alcohol addict to prove that he was not in his senses when the accident occurred.

“The accused has mentioned in his plea that he is addicted to alcohol. Irrespective of the blood report, we are trying to prove that he was fully in his senses to know that this rash act of his is likely to cause death,” Mr Kumar said.

He said that the police have contended before the court that the teen had consumed alcohol being a minor, but was in his senses to realise that his rash driving after alcohol consumption could cause death.

The Pune police Chief said that the police wants the teen to be sent to a remand home, till the court decides on their plea to prosecute him as an adult.

The teen who was at the wheel, son of a prominent realtor from the city, is just four months short of 18 years — the minimum age required to legally drive a car.

The minor was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board on conditions — he has to work with traffic police in Yerwada for 15 days, write an essay on accidents, undergo treatment for his drinking habit and take counselling sessions.

His blood report is yet to be received but preliminary probe showed that the juvenile was drunk at the time of the accident, Mr Kumar said.

“The CCTV footage of the bar clearly shows that the juvenile was consuming alcohol. There is no doubt that the juvenile was driving the car after consuming alcohol. We will be submitting all these facts to the court,” he said.

The teen’s father has been arrested. Additionally, the owners of a couple of bars where the minor was served alcohol have also been arrested.

The accident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area.

The Porsche, which eyewitnesses have said was driving at over 200 km per hour and had no number plates, hit the bike. Ashwini was thrown about 20 feet in the air and landed hard, said an eyewitness. Aneesh was thrown at a parked car and suffered serious injuries. Both died on the spot.

Pune:

The father of the 17-year-old boy involved in a fatal car accident that killed two people has been arrested by Pune Police from Maharashtra’s Aurangabad. The accident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area. According to police reports, a luxury Porsche, driven by the 17-year-old, collided with a motorcycle, instantly killing Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa. The crash, captured on CCTV, revealed the car travelling at an estimated speed of 200 kmph in a narrow lane.

According to Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, the minor had been celebrating his class 12 results at a local pub, where he was seen consuming alcohol before the crash. The legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25, making it illegal for the establishment to serve him. Consequently, the bar owners are also facing charges for serving alcohol to a minor.

The aftermath of the incident has been marked by intense public outcry, particularly following the Juvenile Justice Board’s decision to grant the minor bail just 15 hours after his detention. The board also imposed a series of rehabilitative conditions, including mandatory counselling, a de-addiction program, and a 300-word essay on road safety. This lenient response has been widely criticised given the severity of the accident.

In response to the bail decision, Pune police have filed an application with the sessions court to try the juvenile as an adult. This move is grounded in the belief that the crime’s gravity warrants harsher judicial scrutiny. “We have taken yesterday’s incident seriously. We have taken action under section 304 of IPC, which is a non-bailable section as it was a heinous crime,” said Commissioner Kumar.

While awaiting a decision from the sessions court, Pune police have also arrested the boy’s father, a prominent local builder, under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act. These sections pertain to willful neglect of a child and providing intoxicating substances to a minor, respectively. The arrest underscores the police’s commitment to holding all responsible parties accountable, regardless of their social or economic status.

Additionally, the police have initiated legal action against the pub where the minor was seen drinking. The proprietors face serious charges for their role in providing alcohol to the minor boy, contributing to the tragic events that followed.

Bhopal:

The family of 25-year-old Ashwini Koshta is still in shock, The body of the young woman, who was mowed down by a drunk teen in Pune on a speeding Porsche, was brought to her home in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, today. Ashwini was one of the two persons hit by the vehicle at 2.15 am on Saturday. Her colleague Aneesh Awadhiya also died on the spot. Both were software engineers  working in Pune.

The teen who was at the wheel, son of a prominent realtor from the city, secured bail 15 hours after his arrest. He is just four months short of 18 years — the minimum age required to legally drive a car.

His lawyer said he has been asked to work with the traffic police of Yerawada for 15 days, and would undergo psychiatric counselling. He has been also referred to an alcohol de-addiction centre.

The decision of the Juvenile Board that has sparked massive anger. Ashwini’s family said they are dismayed by the bail conditions and are ready to fight at every level to get her justice.

“We are in shock,” said her uncle Jugal Kishor Koshta. “It is condemnable that he should get bail in 15 hours. He and his parents should be investigated. We will discuss the matter once Ashwini’s last rites are over tomorrow,” he added.  Asked if there was a possibility of political pressure in the case, he said it is “quite possible and elections are on anyway”.

“We want his bail cancelled and he should remain in police custody. Because of him, an innocent girl, who has seen nothing of life, died,” said her uncle Sachin Bokde.  

Ashwini’s father, Suresh Kumar Koshta, works as an office assistant in the state’s electricity department. One of his sons, Samprit Koshta, is a software engineer in Bengaluru.

A software engineer, Ashwini was living in Pune for the last two years. Her last appointment was with Amazon. A year ago, she switched jobs and joined Johnson Controls Company.

Early on Sunday, Ashwini was on way home with her colleague after dinner, when the accident took place. The minor at the wheels was out celebrating his Class 12 exam results. He was driving at 200 kmph when the Porsche hit the bike of the two engineers.

Eyewitnesses said Ashwini was thrown about 20 feet in the air, Aneesh was also thrown and hit a parked car. Both died on the spot.

The teen got bail in record time. The police said efforts are on to try him as an adult. A case has been filed against his father. The pub that served him alcohol will be charged as well, the police said. The minimum legal age for drinking in India is 25 years.