Police have revealed that an attempt was made to show that the 17-year-old was not the one driving the Porsche which killed two IT professionals on May 19 in the Kalyani Nagar area of Pune. The driver employed by his family even tried to take responsibility for the accident, the Pune police chief said on Friday after two officials were suspended for lapses committed during the probe.
A local court remanded the six accused arrested in the case, which includes the teenager’s father, Vishal Agarwal, in judicial custody even though police sought their further custody.
On Friday late evening, the probe was transferred to the probe was transferred to the crime branch from the Yerawada police station where the initial case was registered, reported PTI. The Madhya Pradesh-based parents of the two victims demanded that the Supreme Court monitor the probe and that the trial be held in MP.
Evidence Against The 17-Year-Old
Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI that there was enough evidence showing that the teenager was driving the car. The top cop said that there is CCTV footage of “him drinking liquor in the pub and that he was "fully in his senses”.
He further added that, “he had full knowledge that due to his conduct, such an accident, where IPC section 304 is applicable, can happen”. Section 304 deals with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
“During our investigation, it has clearly emerged that the juvenile was driving the car and we have already collected all the necessary chronological evidence. For example, when the juvenile left the house, the entry on the security register shows that he left with the car,” the commissioner was quoted as saying by PTI.
On reports alleging that the teenager was fed pizza, burger and biryani at the police station after being detained, Kumar said, "a pizza party didn't happen in the police station." "But yes, something had happened on which we have initiated an internal investigation,” he added.
The police have said that the driver employed by the teen’s family was in the car, there were attempts to show that the driver was at the wheel and not the teen when the car hit the two individuals. Following the accident, the driver claimed responsibility the commissioner said, adding, "Why and under whose pressure he said that will be disclosed at an appropriate time."
Adding to this there were complaints, that some eyewitnesses were pressured. “If such things come to the fore, strict action will be taken against the police officer concerned,” Kumar said.
At Sassoon General Hospital, where the teenager was taken at 9 AM on Sunday, his blood samples were collected at 11 am. But the commissioner said that blood samples weren’t the “pillar” of the case. For extra precaution, another sample was collected in the evening around 7 or 8 PM for DNA sampling. Reports of which are yet to be received.
In the initial FIR, section 304 A (death by negligence) was applied but it was revised with section 304 the same day as the crime warranted that (more serious) section, Kumar said.
Court Asks For 300-Word Essay
After the accident, the minor was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board 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 Board on Wednesday remanded the teen, son of real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, to the observation home till June 5.
Parents Of Victims Will Fight ‘Till Their Last Breath’
Parents of Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals who died in the June 19 accident, said they will not rest till they get justice. Suresh Kumar Koshta, Ashwini's father, told reporters in Jabalpur that the Supreme Court should monitor the investigation and trial.
"I am going to fight for justice till my last breath," Anish's father Om Prakash Awadhiya said over the phone. The trial should be held in Madhya Pradesh and not in Pune, he demanded.