Pune:

The prosecution in the Porsche car crash case on Friday submitted proposed draft charges against seven accused, including the parents of the juvenile as well as two doctors from the state-run Sassoon General Hospital, said special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray.

The draft charges were presented before Additional Sessions Judge UM Mudholkar, he added.

Two IT professionals were killed in the early hours of May 19 in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated condition.

The draft charges include allegations against the juvenile’s parents, Sassoon General Hospital’s Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shreehari Halnor, staffer at the hospital Atul Ghatkamble, as well as middlemen Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, said SPP Hiray.

Taware, Halnor and Ghatkamble are accused of playing a role in swapping the blood samples of the juvenile with that of his mother so as to nullify tests to detect alcohol. Apart from the juvenile’s samples, the blood samples of two other minor friends in the car were also reportedly swapped at Sassoon Hospital to prevent the detection of alcohol in their blood.

Middlemen Makandar and Gaikwad are accused of facilitating financial transactions in the alleged swapping of the juvenile’s blood samples, as per police.

The seven accused are charged with collusion in swapping the juvenile’s blood samples and face charges under Indian Penal Code section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and sections related to forgery as well as provision of Prevention of Corruption Act, said advocate Sarathi Pansare, an associate of Hiray.

Sarathi Pansare further said the prosecution submitted an application seeking permission to obtain the phone unlock patterns for Halnor and Ghatkamble, as their devices are encrypted and the forensic department has been unable to access data.

Accessing their phone data is crucial, Sarathi Pansare said.

The prosecution also submitted an application urging the court to declare as proclaimed offender Arun Kumar Singh, the father of one of the minor friends of the juvenile present at the time of the accident, he said.

The anticipatory bail of Singh, who allegedly asked his friend Ashish Mittal to swap his blood samples with those of his son, was recently rejected by the Bombay High Court. Singh is on the run in the case.

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

Pune:

The father of one of the IT professionals killed in the May 19 Porsche car crash in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar met police commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Friday to know details about the ongoing probe.

Anish Awadhiya (24) and his friend, who were on a motorcycle, were killed after the two-wheeler was rammed by a speeding Porsche car allegedly being driven by a drunk minor boy.

“Anish was on the brink of fulfilling his dream of going to London to pursue a masters degree in computer science. I had even applied for a Rs 40 lakh loan from a nationalised bank for his studies abroad. However, his life was tragically cut short. He was taken from us too soon,” said his father Om Awadhiya, a resident of Madhya Pradesh.

“I and my family have come to Pune to know the details of the probe into the case. We met police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and his team. I am satisfied at the way the probe is being carried out,” he told PTI at the commissionerate.

The commissioner informed about the appointment of special public prosecutor advocate Shishir Hiray in the case as well as bail pleas of the accused’s father and mother being rejected, Om Awadhiya said.

After the accident, he had lost hope believing everyone was hand in glove but the way Pune police under the commissioner has conducted the probe, Om Awadhiya said he was confident justice would be served.

“I am thankful to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for the cooperation and support in the case. The people of Pune also raised their voice and a lot of support and demand for justice was garnered through social media. All parents should take a lesson from this incident that they should not allow their minor children to drive vehicles,” he added.

If a person in the 16-18 age group commits such a crime under the influence of liquor, then he or she should be tried as an adult, Om Awadhiya asserted.

“Two precious lives were lost and two families are now shattered. The law must be made very strict so that such incidents do not happen again,” he said.

He also cited newspaper reports claiming the family of the accused was seeking a return of the Porsche car and the minor’s passport.

The passport is being sought to let him escape in the manner of fugitives like Nirav Modi, he claimed.

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

Pune:

The minor accused of killing two persons after ramming his Porsche car in an inebriated state into a motorcycle in Pune on May 19 has undergone a 15-day safe driving programme as mandated by a court, a Regional Transport Office (RTO) official said on Sunday.

Two IT professionals from Madhya Pradesh were killed in the incident, which took place in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar and triggered massive outrage nationwide, partly because of the accused getting bail from the Juvenile Justice Board on lenient terms and due to a police probe finding attempts by his family and some doctors to cover up the crime.

While being released on bail by the JJB, among the conditions placed on him were writing a 300-word essay on road accidents as well as taking help of the RTO to study traffic rules and regulations.

“The juvenile accused completed the safe driving programme with the RTO. With respect to the guidelines of the court, the operation was kept discreet as it could have led to issue of privacy of the juvenile,” a top RTO official said.

“The training programme included road driving safety measures, importance of driving licence, meaning of road signals and symbols and other activities. During the process, the juvenile was also taken for on-field training,” the official added.

The minor has already submitted the 300-word essay, other officials said.

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

New Delhi:
A 17-year-old boy who was involved in the Porsche car accident that killed two techies in Pune last month has been granted a big relief by the Bombay High Court which ordered that he should be released immediately from an observation home.

Here Are Bombay High Court’s Top Quotes:

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.)

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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Pune, Maharashtra:

The Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA and former minister Prajakt P. Tanpure’s family remembers the days when their son was studying in school as a classmate of the same drunken 17-year-old boy who killed two persons while speeding his father’s Porsche May 20.

The legislator’s wife Sonali P. Tanpure took to social media on Wednesday, saying she recalled “those days again” when the accused – the son of a prominent Pune realty developer – was studying in the same class as her son.

“At that time, my son suffered a lot at the hands of some of his (the builder’s son) friends. I had even complained about it to their parents, but did not get a proper response,” rued Sonali Tanpure.

Finally, left with no options, the Tanpure family decided to change the school of their son to avoid his torture at the hands of the other brats.

“The scars of those traumatic incidents are still there on his (son’s) mind. If the parents had noticed the bad tendencies of their child in time, then such a terrible crime would not have happened,” said Sonali Tanpure, on the Porsche crash that has left Maharashtra shaken.

Her husband and Rahuri MLA Tanpure said the incident by a rich man’s wayward kid has cut short the lives of the two young victims who hailed from a small town with big dreams to make success in life.

In all this, Mr Tanpure pointed out how, not only the boy and his rich family, but the entire system, including the liberal home department, government and police are equally responsible for the tragedy.

“The authorities are committing the sin of destabilising the social order by supporting the influential big people. It’s only because of the alert people present there and the pressure built by the citizens and the media that is leading to some effective action now,” said Prajakt Tanpure.

Sonali Tanpure sought justice for the families of the two well-educated victims, aged 24 – Ashwini Koshta and Aneesh Awadhiya – who were killed instantly in the Porsche speeding at a dizzying 200 kmph speed which was barely captured as a fleeting shadow in the CCTVs installed at Kalyani Nagar junction.
 

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