Porsche crash: Teen's grandfather, father in custody till May 31
What's the story
The Pune district court on Tuesday extended the police custody of the father and the grandfather of the teenager accused in the Porsche accident case, till May 31.
On Saturday, the court remanded the teenager's grandfather in the case in police custody till May 28.
Both relatives have been booked under Indian Penal Code Sections 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement).
Context
Why does this story matter?
Early Sunday morning, the reportedly inebriated minor drove a Porsche into two motorcycle-borne software engineers, Aneesh Awadhiya (24) and Ashwini Koshta (24), killing them both.
The case and the subsequent bail granted to the minor under the Juvenile Justice Act sparked sharp criticism and protests.
As part of the bail conditions, the minor was required to work with Yerwada traffic police for 15 days and write an essay on the accident.
Information
JJB's decision amid outrage
Pune Police had then filed a review petition with the Juvenile Justice Board, seeking to try the boy as an adult and review the earlier order. On May 21, the boy's father, a prominent Pune builder, was arrested. The next day, the JJB canceled the 17-year-old's bail and remanded him in custody for 14 days, but withheld a decision on treating him as an adult amid widespread outrage.
Investigation underway
₹3L paid to change blood samples of Porsche teen: Report
Separately, reports said that the peon arrested in the case—along with two doctors—allegedly handed over a ₹3 lakh bribe to them to manipulate the blood report of the 17-year-old accused.
The peon, Atul Ghatkamble, is said to have acted as an intermediary, collecting the bribe from the teenager's family for the doctors, reports said.
Dr. Ajay Tawre and Dr. Shri Hari Harnor of Sasoon Hospital were arrested by the Pune Crime Branch yesterday for tampering with the accused's blood report.
Bribe details
Phone conversation reveals alleged bribe offer
According to reports, Dr. Tawade and the teen's father discussed a bribe over the phone on the day of the accident to replace the blood samples, police said.
Dr. Tawade suggested that the minor's blood samples were swapped with those of another doctor to eliminate traces of alcohol.
Amid the new revelations, the teenager's father—under custody till June 7—was charged with forgery, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence on Monday.
Sample swap
Blood sample switch: Commissioner reveals details
According to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar on May 19—the day of the accident—around 11:00am, a blood sample taken from the teen at Sassoon Hospital was discarded in a dustbin and replaced with another person's sample.
This switch was allegedly executed by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Halnor under instructions from Dr. Tawade, Head of Department of forensic medicine at the hospital.