In a recent development in the Pune Porsche accident case, the court on Friday remanded Surendra Agarwal and Vishal Agarwal, the grandfather and father of the minor accused, to 14-day judicial custody. Earlier, on Tuesday, the court had extended their detention until 31 May. The Crime Branch of Pune Police arrested the Agarwals for the wrongful confinement of their family driver. They allegedly enticed him with cash and gifts to take responsibility for the accident, which claimed the lives of two IT professionals. Following a complaint from the driver, Yerawada Police registered a new case against the father and grandfather under IPC Sections 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping a person in confinement). According to police officials, the driver was confined by the accused juvenile’s family in their bungalow from 19 May to 20 May, and his phone was confiscated. He was later freed by his wife. Vishal Agarwal was arrested on 21 May in Aurangabad, and the grandfather was arrested on 25 May.
Police Seek Permission to Probe Accused Juvenile
Meanwhile, on Friday, the police wrote to the Juvenile Justice Board seeking permission to question the minor in connection with the accident. According to the police, the minor was allegedly driving the luxury car when it collided with a motorbike, killing two techies in the city’s Kalyani Nagar area on 19 May (Sunday). The police claimed that the minor was drunk at the time of the incident.
The accident sent shockwaves throughout the country, particularly after the Juvenile Justice Board took a very lenient view of the case and granted bail to the minor within a few hours, instructing him to write a 300-word essay. Following public outcry and a review application filed by the Maharashtra Police, the minor was eventually sent to an observation home until 5 June. Meanwhile, the police also arrested two doctors, Dr. Shrihari Harnor and Dr. Ajay Taware, along with Atul Ghatkamble, a staffer at Sassoon Hospital, for allegedly swapping the blood sample of the accused with that of a woman.
Subsequently, a three-member committee was constituted to investigate the sample swap at Sassoon Hospital, led by Dr. Pallavi Saple from Mumbai’s JJ Hospital.