The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Maharashtra’s Pune on Wednesday remanded a 17-year-old youth who is allegedly involved in a car accident that claimed two lives to an observation home until June 5 in response to an outcry over the swift granting of bail. His father, a real estate builder was sent to three-day police custody by a sessions court in Pune. While the police claimed that the JJB cancelled the minor’s bail granted three days ago on Wednesday evening, his lawyer claimed that there was no bail cancellation, but rather a modification of the previous order.
The JJB granted bail to the teeanger on Sunday, hours after his Porsche car allegedly collided with and killed two IT professionals in their twenties riding a motorbike. It also required him to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, which elicited a barrage of criticism. Police then approached the JJB again, requesting a review of the order.
Police have filed a First Information Report against the minor under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304 A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving), 337 (causing hurt by an act which endangers human life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by an act endangering life or personal safety), and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act. According to the police, he was drunk at the time.
The sessions court earlier on Wednesday remanded Vishal Agarwal (50), the minor’s father, and two Hotel Black Club employees, Nitesh Shevani and Jayesh Gavkar, in police custody until May 24. Prior to the accident, the teenager allegedly consumed alcohol at Hotel Black Club.
Police charged his father with violating sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, as well as the owner and employees of two bars where the boy had visited prior to the accident, with’serving alcohol to an underage person.’ Section 75 addresses “willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses,” whereas Section 77 addresses “supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs.”
Pune Police’s FIR Reveals Shocking Details
According to the FIR, the real estate developer gave his son the car despite knowing he didn’t have a driver’s licence, putting his life in danger, and allowed him to party despite knowing he drank alcohol. Agarwal was arrested at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The prosecution demanded seven days of police custody for the father and the other two, claiming that the police wanted to investigate why the father allowed his son to drive the car without a licence plate.
They should also look into why the man fled after a case was filed against his son. He was arrested with a simple no-frills mobile phone, and “the police need to investigate where are his other phones,” said the public prosecutor.
The driver of the Porsche, who was with the juvenile at the time of the accident, offered to drive, but the juvenile declined, according to the prosecution. Earlier, while Agarwal was being transported to the sessions court in the Shivajinagar area in a police vehicle, some people allegedly attempted to throw ink at it.
Fadnavis Backs Police Probe In Pune Porsche Crash Case, Accuses Rahul Gandhi Of Politicising It
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Wednesday Devendra Fadnavis stated that it did not “behove” Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to “politicise” the accident. Gandhi commented on the accident, saying that if an ordinary truck or cab driver had caused it, he would be imprisoned for years, but there was different justice for a wealthy man’s son, and Congress wanted to change the system.
VBA Leader Prakash Ambedkar Questions Pune Police’s Investigation
Prakash Ambedkar, leader of the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, claimed that police spent more time investigating the relationship between the two IT professionals who were killed. Victims Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-olds from Madhya Pradesh who work in Pune, were riding on a motorbike when they were hit by a Porsche allegedly driven by the teenager near Kalyani Nagar junction early Sunday.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Ambedkar said, “Officers at Yerawada police station spent more time questioning the relationship between Anish and Ashwini…while the accused was allegedly served burger and pizza.”
Pune Accident Accused Asked To Write 300-Word Essay
According to the controversial bail order issued by the Juvenile Justice Board hours after the incident on Sunday, the teenager’s grandfather had “given an assurance that he will keep the Child-in-Conflict with Law (CCL) away from any bad company and he will concentrate on his study or any vocational course which is useful for his career.”
The order stated that “the CCL will write an essay of 300 words on the topic of road accidents and their solutions,” a move that triggered wave of criticism on social media platforms.
