Pune:

The fact that the teenager who rammed his father’s Porsche into two techies in Pune in May, killing them on the spot, was given bail and asked to write a 300-word essay on road safety had sparked national outrage. NDTV has now accessed the essay, in which the 17-year-old explains why he left the spot after the accident and stresses on the need to follow traffic rules. 

Meeting the bail conditions set by the Juvenile Justice Board on May 19, the day of the accident, the teenager handed in the essay on Wednesday. 

The boy, the son of a prominent Pune builder, had been drinking with his friends in two pubs to celebrate his Class 12 results before knocking down the scooter carrying the two 24-year-old techies – Ashwini Koshta and Anish Awadhiya – in the Porsche at a speed in excess of 150 kmph. He had then sped away.

In the essay, the 17-year-old, who was four months shy of the legal age for driving and more than seven years shy of Maharashtra’s legal age for drinking, said he left the spot because he was scared of what would happen to him and of getting into trouble with the police. This, he said, had also prevented him from going to a police station and reporting the accident. 

He wrote that, instead of fleeing after an accident, people should go to the nearest police station and report what had happened. Not doing so, he said, could land people in trouble. 

Exhorting people to help accident victims, the teenager also said everyone should follow traffic rules for their own safety and that of others. 

‘Confident And Composed’

Asked about the essay, officials said they found it ambiguous and couldn’t make out the teenager’s mental state. They also said that while he was in the remand home, his behaviour was like someone who was older than he is and remained confident and composed even after the arrest of his parents and grandfather. 

On the day of the accident, the teenager was taken to the Yerawada police station, where he was allegedly given VIP treatment and even given pizzas and burgers. Sunil Tingre, an MLA from the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP, had also reached the police station, allegedly to ask police officials to go easy on him.

A murky saga began after that, with the boy’s family allegedly trying to pin the crime on a driver and bribing doctors to get the teenager’s blood samples exchanged before the blood alcohol test. The boy had got bail the same day, only to be sent to a remand home following national outrage. 

In late June, his detention was declared illegal by the Bombay High Court, which ordered his immediate release. 

After the High Court order, Ashwini Koshta’s mother Mamta had said, “I was shocked after seeing the news. I have full faith in the judiciary. They must have made the decision after careful consideration. However, I request the judges to understand the pain of a mother who has lost her daughter. Punishment should be given accordingly so that the public can trust the judicial system.”

Pune:

A committee looking into alleged discrepancies in a report by a non-judicial member of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in the Pune Porsche crash case has found lapses in the report, sources said.

The JJB’s non-judicial member, Dr LN Danwade, had released the 17-year-old teen, who allegedly drove the Porsche that rammed two IT engineers and killed them, on bail within 15 hours of the accident.

The committee in a 100-page report to the Social Justice Department now said among the many red flags in the way Dr Danwade handled the matter, he did not consider the flaws in the blood report, which did not come from the police.

The JJB also did not make a roster as is the norm, and Dr Danwade gave the decision to release the accused teen “in haste”, the committee said in its report.

The order should have been given only in the presence of more JJB members, but no one from the JJB apart from Dr Danwade was present in court at the time the bail order was given, the committee said.

The JJB Bench would have overturned the bail order the next day since the flaws were obvious, the committee said. Notices have been issued against all the JJB members 

Show cause notices have been issued against all JJB members including non-judicial ones. They have been ordered to respond to the alleged flaws.

The Porsche car driven by the teenager, son of a builder, crashed into a motorbike in the early hours of May 19, killing IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both residents of Madhya Pradesh. The teen was driving under the influence, according to the police.

The boy’s parents are in police custody in connection with a case related to alleged swapping of his blood samples at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital.

The bail terms included writing a 300-word essay on road safety and bonds worth Rs 15,000. These terms were later modified – after widespread public outrage and the police indicating they would charge the boy as an adult – and he was sent to a remand home.

Pune:

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) here on Friday allowed police to investigate the minor allegedly involved in the Porsche crash that left two techies dead, an official said.

The police had written to the JJB seeking permission to probe the 17-year-old, who is currently in an observation home.

“The hearing took place before the JJ board and it allowed our plea,” said Shailesh Balkawade, Additional Commissioner of Police (crime).

Police claim the teenager was driving the luxury car in an inebriated state when it hit two IT professionals on a motorbike in the city’s Kalyani Nagar area in the early hours of May 19.

Under the Juvenile Justice Act, inquiry of a minor has to be conducted in the parents’ presence.

The JJB granted bail to the teenager, son of a prominent real estate developer, a few hours after the May 19 crash and asked him to write a 300-word essay on road safety. Amid a nationwide outcry, police again approached the JJB, which modified the order and sent him to the observation home till June 5.

After the bail was given to the juvenile by a single member of the JJ Board, the Maharashtra government set up a committee to probe the conduct of the JJB members and check if norms were followed while issuing orders in the Pune car crash case.

The committee, headed by a deputy commissioner, will submit its report by next week, said Prashant Narnavare, commissioner of the Women and Child Department.

The JJB comprises a member from the judiciary and two persons appointed by the state government. The current inquiry has been set up to probe the conduct of the state-appointed members, the official said.

The minor’s father and grandfather have been arrested for allegedly wrongfully confining the family’s driver after the accident, offering him cash and gifts for taking the blame (and shielding the minor), and also threatening him.

The police have also arrested two doctors and a staffer from Sassoon General Hospital here for allegedly manipulating the teenager’s blood samples to show that he was not drunk at the time of the accident.

Police on Friday moved an application for custody of the teenager’s father in connection with the alleged switching of the blood samples. Earlier in the day, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) AA Pande remanded the real estate developer and his father (the minor’s grandfather) in judicial custody for 14 days after their police custody in the driver kidnapping case got over.

As per the police, about a dozen calls were exchanged between the juvenile’s father and Dr Ajay Taware, one of the arrested doctors, while samples were being collected for testing for alcohol consumption.

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

Pune:

Police investigating the Porsche car crash allegedly involving a juvenile driver are planning “digital reconstruction” of the accident scene using some latest AI-based tools and software for “evidence appreciation”, a senior police officer said on Wednesday.

He said such AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools have not yet been used for reconstructing accident scenes, though they have been effectively used in murder cases to reconstruct the body for identification.

“By leveraging these AI tools, we aim to reconstruct the entire accident and crime scene in detail. The objective is to create a comprehensive visualisation of the crime/accident scene to enhance evidence appreciation,” the officer told PTI.

The juvenile son of a city-based builder allegedly drank alcohol at a restaurant and a club before driving the car at high speed, which crashed into a motorbike in the early hours of May 19, killing two IT professionals, police had said.

The digital reconstruction involves recreating the route from the juvenile’s home to Cosie Restaurant to Blak Club in Mundhwa area, and from the Club to the accident spot in Kalyani Nagar area.

“There are some AI simulated models and core softwares wherein if CCTV camera footage, photos or spot photos are inputted, they can create some 3D image or 3D walk-through,” the officer added.

Police had collected a large volume of CCTV footage along the route taken by the juvenile, leading to the spot of the accident, which will come in handy in the digital reconstruction of the accident site.

As per the police, the juvenile, who is in the observation home, had partied in Cosie restaurant and Blak Club.

Police had arrested the minor’s father and grandfather for allegedly trying to stall the investigation.

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

Reacting sharply to an activist’s claims that he had called the Pune police commissioner to “pressure him” after the accident in which a 17-year-old had killed two techies in their 20s in his Porsche, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has said he is ready to undergo a narco test to prove his innocence but asked whether the person making the allegation was ready to take ‘sanyas’ (lead a life of renunciation) if he is proven innocent. 

Activist Anjali Damania has alleged that Mr Pawar had called Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar after the Porsche accident and the deputy chief minister had, on Monday, said he had done so to ensure that the senior cop did not give in to any pressure. 

“As a people’s representative, we receive calls regarding such accidents. I had called the police commissioner and told him that the accused boy was from a wealthy family and there was a chance the police might be pressured. I told him not to succumb to any political pressure,” the NCP leader was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

When he was asked about the activist claiming that the calls were made to favour the accused and demanding that his phone records be checked, Mr Pawar said in Marathi, “I am ready for a narco test but, if I am cleared, you (Ms Damania) should stay quiet at home and take ‘sanyas’. Is she ready for that?”

Colleagues In Dock Too

The deputy chief minister’s comments came on a day when the dean of Sassoon Hospital –  where two doctors were arrested for allegedly replacing the teenager’s blood samples to ensure that no alcohol was detected in them – claimed that a minister and an MLA from Mr Pawar’s party had written a letter asking for one of the doctors to be made the head of the forensics department. 

Dr Vinayak Kale claimed that the letter was written by Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and MLA Sunil Tingre in favour of Dr Ajay Tawade, who was suspended as the head of the hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department on Wednesday . Mr Tingre is already in the eye of a storm for visiting the police station where the teenager was taken after the accident on May 19 to allegedly pressure officials into going easy on the case. 

Dr Kale was later sent on compulsory leave by the Maharashtra government for “failing to take the case seriously” and “not taking proper decisions” as the dean.

On May 18, the 17-year-old son of a prominent Pune realtor had gone partying – in a Rs 2.5-crore Porsche – with his friends to celebrate his Class 12 results. They went to two pubs and drank illegally, paying a bill of Rs 48,000 at one of them.

The teen then got into the Porsche with two of his friends and crashed into a scooter in Kalyani Nagar at a speed of at least 150 kmph in the early hours of May 19, killing two 24-year-old IT professionals on the spot. Aneesh Awadhiya, who was riding the bike was sent flying and hit a parked car, while Ashwini Koshta – who was riding pillion – was flung 20 feet into the air. 

The teenager had got bail the same day and was asked to write a 300-word essay as one of the conditions. Three days later, after nationwide outrage, he was sent to a remand home till June 5. 

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 case against the Pune teen – who killed two people early Sunday while drunk and driving his father’s Rs 2.5 crore Porsche supercar – took an additional twist Thursday evening.

The police will now also investigate potential lapses in protocol in the hours following the incident, including possible preferential treatment for the 17-year-old son of a prominent city builder.

Specifically, a senior cop – Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashwini Rakh – will question officers and staff at the police station in Yerwada where the complaint was first filed. The allegations include underplaying the horrific nature of the incident in the first write-ups and delaying a medical examination, which should have been done immediately to establish the boy’s blood alcohol level.

But perhaps most shocking is a claim that the cops were more interested in ‘investigating’ Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta – the 24-year-old software professionals who were killed.

Pizza, Burger For Teen In Pune Porsche Crash?

Meanwhile, an opposition politician has said the boy was handled cautiously and even given food – pizzas and burgers – while in police custody as an accused in a stomach-churning road accident.

The claim was made by Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief and two-time ex-Lok Sabha MP Prakash Ambedkar, who posted on X, “Officers at Yerwada Police Station spent more time questioning the relationship between Anish and Ashwini – IT professionals fatally knocked down by drunk minor -while the accused was allegedly served burger and pizza”, and posed six questions to the cops.

Officers at Yerawada police station spent more time questioning the relationship between Anish and Ashwini — the two IT professionals who were fatally knocked down by the drunk minor — while the accused was allegedly served burger and pizza.

This is how the system benefits the…

— Prakash Ambedkar (@Prksh_Ambedkar) May 22, 2024

Among the questions he raised (and which may now be answered) were the eight-hour delay in administering a blood alcohol test and why the boy was not sent directly to a remand home.

READ | “1 Hour TV, 2 Hours Play Time”: Pune Teen’s Remand Home Schedule

There was outrage after the Juvenile Board gave the boy bail within 15 hours on conditions as ridiculous as two bonds of Rs 7,500 each and writing a 300-word essay on road accidents. Late Wednesday that order was revised and the boy was sent to a remand home till June 5.

At present the boy faces a drunk driving charge that, for a first-time offence, limits punishment to six months jail and a fine of Rs 10,000. A charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder will be levied should the Juvenile Board allow him to be tried as an adult.

Rahul Gandhi On Pune Porsche Crash

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has also questioned the cops over preferential treatment for the boy, asking why accused in similar cases – if they are auto or cab drivers – don’t get bail as quickly.

READ | With 7 Conditions, Teen Porsche Driver Got Bail On Grandad’s Say

“When a teen from a rich family drinks alcohol and kills two people in a Porsche… he is told to pen an ‘essay’. Why are bus, truck, and auto drivers, or cabbies, not asked to write such essays?”

“The question is of equal justice (for) the poor and prosperous…” he said.

Father’s Mobile Phone Found

Police have also found the mobile phone of the boy’s father, who was arrested the day after the incident from Sambhajinagar (earlier Aurangabad) after an elaborate rescue plan was thwarted.

READ | Pune Teen’s Father Had Big Escape Plan. How Was He Caught?

The phone – understood to be the father’s original, which he left at home while trying to escape the cops – is now in the custody of the Crime Branch, which says he is not cooperating with the probe.

The father faces a charge of willful neglect of his son under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

NDTV Explains | Charges Against Pune Builder, Son Who Killed 2 With Porsche

The bar where the boy was served alcohol has been sealed, and its owner and staff are in police custody. They are being investigated for selling liquor to an under-aged individual.

At 17 years and 8 months, the boy was four months short of the legal age for driving and eight years shy of Maharashtra’s legal drinking age, which is 25.

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Pune:

A morning wake-up call, a healthy breakfast, and prayers, followed by three hours of studying languages – this is not the daily schedule of a school or college student. This is the schedule the 17-year-old Pune teen – who was “heavily drunk” and driving his father’s Rs 2.5 crore Porsche supercar when he killed two people – will be expected to follow at a remand home for juvenile accused.

Sources told NDTV the daily schedule at the remand home – to which the boy has been sent till June 5 – begins with a breakfast of poha, upma, eggs, and milk. Breakfast will be served from 8 to 10 am.

The boys will be given an hour’s rest after which a daily prayer session will be convened.

From 11 am to 1 pm the inmates will attend classes, and the rest from 1 to 4 pm.

At 4 pm snacks will be served, and this will be followed by an hour of TV time and two hours of outdoor play time; volleyball and football will be the sports offered.

At 7 pm the juvenile inmates will eat dinner – vegetables, dal, rice, and rotis.

At 8 pm they will head back to their dormitory and turn in for the night.

14-Day Remand For Pune Teen

Late Wednesday night the Juvenile Justice Board – which was heavily criticised for granting bail, within 15 hours of the horrific incident, on terms as ridiculous as two bonds of Rs 7,500 each and writing a 300-word essay – modified its order, and sent the boy to a city remand home till June 5.

READ | Pune Teen Who Killed 2 With Porsche Sent To Remand Home

A copy of the bail order seen by NDTV listed seven conditions for bail, including an ‘assurance’ from the family (given by his grandfather) that the boy will be kept away from “bad company”.

READ | With 7 Conditions, Teen Porsche Driver Got Bail On Grandad’s Say

The boy’s lawyer – also representing the father who was arrested and charged with willful neglect of his child – claimed the order had been changed to reflect a potential threat to the teen’s life.

Charges Against Pune Teen

At present the boy faces a drunk driving charge that, for a first-time offence, limits punishment to six months jail and a fine of Rs 10,000. A second, more serious, charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder will be levied should the Juvenile Board allow him to be tried as an adult.

Speaking to NDTV on Tuesday, Pune Police chief Amitesh Kumar said a “watertight case” is being made. The cops will argue the boy “had the knowledge his rash act was likely to cause death.”

A decision on this is expected later today.

Charges Against Father, Bar

The boy is the son of a prominent city-based realtor, who went on the run after his son rammed into the two-wheeler and killed Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. The father was arrested the next day from Sambhajinagar (earlier called Aurangabad) after cops thwarted an elaborate rescue plan.

READ | “Cops Have Evidence?” Pune Teen’s Lawyer On Case Against Dad

The same lawyer, speaking to NDTV, scoffed at the idea the father could be convicted, arguing the most crucial point – proof that he had knowledge of his son’s actions – could not be proven.

NDTV Explains | Charges Against Pune Builder, Son Who Killed 2 With Porsche

At 17 years and 8 months, the boy was four months short of the legal age for driving.

He was also nearly eight years shy of the legal drinking age in Maharashtra, which is 25.

READ | CCTV Shows Pune Teen Drinking In Pub Before Porsche Crash

As a result, the bar where he and his friends went to celebrate passing the Class 12 exam has been sealed, and its owner and staff have been questioned over serving liquor to minors. CCTV footage from the establishment showed the boy and his friends at a table loaded with alcohol bottles.

Pune Porsche Accident – What Happened?

According to witnesses, the accident took place at 2.15 am on Saturday.

READ | CCTV Shows Speeding Porsche Moments Before Crash Killed 2

The speeding Porsche – reportedly driven at 200 km per hour – rammed the bike driven by Mr Awadhiya. Witnesses said he was flung into a parked car and Ms Costa was thrown 20 feet in the air.

The families have demanded the shocking incident be treated as “murder’.

Maharashtra Government Reacts

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was forced into a public statement after the Juvenile Board’s initial order, condemning the “lenient” punishment calling for a meeting with the cops.

READ | “How Can Board Give Such Order?” Fadnavis On Porsche Crash

“We have appealed to the district court against the Juvenile Board order. There is a huge public outrage. I have taken stock of the investigation updates till now,” he said, adding, “Officials will take closure action against pubs where violations are found and there will be drunk driving checks…”

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New Delhi:

Two techies were killed after a speeding Porsche – being driven by a 17-year-old boy – hit their bike in Pune on Saturday. The incident has triggered massive anger, with many blaming lax laws for deaths due to rash driving and minors on the wheels.

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 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 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.

In response to the bail decision, Pune Police have filed an application with the sessions court to try the juvenile as an adult.

Charges Against Teen

The teen would be tried and punished under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, which deals with drink driving offences.

The act states that drink driving is a criminal offense if a breath analyzer test reveals that the blood alcohol concentration of the driver of the motor vehicle is more than 30 mg per 100 ml.

For the first drink driving offence under the act, a person can get six months of jail and a fine of Rs 10,000. For a second offence, you could spend up to 2 years in jail and be fined Rs 15,000 (up from Rs 3,000). Repeat offenders might also face penalties related to their driving licenses.

Police are also trying to prove a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder where there is knowledge that the act could cause death.

Charges Against Teen’s Father

A case has been filed against the teen’s father 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 former deals with the willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses, for which punishment can stretch to a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The latter deals with supplying a child with intoxicating liquor, or any narcotics or drugs, unless prescribed by a qualified medical practitioner, and those convicted could face up to seven years in jail.