New Delhi: Two officials from the Yerawada police station were suspended on Friday due to alleged dereliction of duty in relation to an accident involving a 17-year-old juvenile whose Porsche fatally struck two individuals in the early hours of May 19. Inspector Rahul Jagdale and Assistant Police Inspector Vishwanath Todkari were suspended for delayed reporting and negligence, according to Additional Commissioner of Police Manoj Patil.
The suspended cops did not inform the wireless control room about the accident, CP Pune Amitesh Kumar said, as per news agency ANI.
Following a car crash in the Kalyani Nagar area of the city, the accident case was registered at the Yerwada police station. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar revealed earlier that an internal inquiry highlighted lapses by police officials during the case registration process, reported news agency PTI.
He admitted to a delay in collecting blood samples from the juvenile, who had purportedly consumed alcohol at two pubs before the accident.
"While the accident took place around 3 am on Sunday, the blood samples were collected at 11 pm", the commissioner said. He added, "Also, the offence was initially registered under section 304 (A) (death caused by negligence ) of IPC and later section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was added".
The Pune Police added section 420 of the IPC along with Sections 65(e) and 18 of the Maharashtra Prohibition Act in the FIR registered against the accused's father, bar owners, and managers, ANI reported.
Attempts Made To Show Accused Juvenile Wasn’t Behind Wheel: Pune Police Chief
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Friday that there were efforts to manipulate evidence in the Porsche case, aiming to shift blame from the 17-year-old who crashed the car into a motorbike, resulting in two fatalities.
Kumar stated that attempts were made to fabricate evidence suggesting that an adult was driving instead of the teenager. However, these efforts were thwarted, Kumar informed reporters.
“We have the CCTV footage of him (juvenile) drinking liquor in the pub. The point of saying this is that our case is not alone depending on the blood report as we have other evidence also,” the officer said. He (juvenile) was fully in his senses, He had full knowledge that due to his conduct, such an accident, where section 304 is applicable, can happen,” Kumar said.
Regarding allegations of preferential treatment towards the juvenile involved, Commissioner Kumar stated that an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) is currently investigating these claims.
Responding to reports of the juvenile being served pizza after the incident, Kumar clarified, "We have categorically stated that there was no pizza party at the police station. However, there was an incident, and we've initiated an internal investigation into it." He emphasised the commitment to building a solid case, mentioning the filing of charges against the accused's father and the bar owners.
Technical analysis of evidence is ongoing. Kumar also mentioned internal inquiries indicating lapses in case registration by some officers, promising action against them for evidence mishandling.
“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,” he said.On the basis of technical and CCTV evidence, it is confirmed that the car was being driven by the juvenile, the police chief said.