• Source:JND
Add as a preferred

Pune Porsche Accident: A local court in Pune on Friday sent Pune-based real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, the father of the teen involved in a major car crash killing two persons, and five other accused in the case to judicial custody till June 7. The police had sought further custody of Vishal Agarwal for question in the case, however, the court remanded Agarwal and others including the owner and employees of two liquor-serving establishments -- where the teenager had allegedly consumed alcohol before his Porsche car knocked down two software professionals on a motorbike -- in judicial custody instead. The 17-year-old prime accused has been lodged in Nehru Udyog Kendra Observation Home till June 5 after the Juvenile Justice Board on Wednesday cancelled the bail granted to him after the accident.

Meanwhile, the police have intensified their probe into the case, moving a plea before the Juvenile Justice Board, seeking to try the accused as an adult. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Friday said that attempts were made to make it appear that the minor was not at the wheel and some adult person was driving the car at the time of the accident on May 19. Amitesh Kumar said that the police are probing the case from all angles, right from the time when the accused left his house on May 18 (Saturday) night, and till the Porsche car disaster around 2:30 am on May 19 (Sunday) that ignited protests and a nationwide furore.

Pune Porsche Crash: Top Updates

- Police Inspector (PI) Rahul Jagdale and Assistant Police Inspector (API), Vishwanath Todkari, posted at Yerwada police station, have been suspended as they did not inform the wireless control room about the accident, said CP Pune Amitesh Kumar.

- A Pune court on Friday sent six arrested persons, including the father of the 17-year-old prime accused to judicial custody till June 7. A defence lawyer said that a bail application for Agarwal on Monday would be moved before a higher court. The six accused also include the owner and employees of the bar where the minor accused got drunk on May 18 before crashing his swanky Porsche Taycan in the wee hours of May 19, leading to the death of two IT professionals, who were travelling on a bike.

- The Pune Police are likely to add more sections to Agarwal's case pertaining to attempts to destroy evidence after he allegedly asked his driver to take the blame for his son's crime on his head. The police also plan to book him for providing false information that the Porsche car, purchased from Bengaluru over two months ago, was plying on the roads without a registration number.

ALSO READ: Attempt Made To Change Driver, Investigating All Angles: Pune Police Commissioner On Porsche Accident

- Amid the growing chorus demanding justice for the two victims, Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said that the accused minor was in his "senses" at the time of the accident and assured that he would be punished. "We are investigating both the case minutely and with full sensitivity. We are making a watertight case. The allegations of any preferential treatment given to the Minor are being investigated by an ACP rank officer...The victim will get justice and the accused will be punished," Kumar said.

- The Pune top cop also confirmed that attempts were made to frame the driver of the accused's father after the accident. He also said that the Police had accessed the CCTV footage of the accused drinking liquor in the pub (before the accident). "Effort was made to frame the driver during that period...We are investigating this also. It is true that at the start the driver had said that he was driving the car. We are investigating this part also under whose pressure the driver made that statement we are investigating it," Kumar said.

- CP Kumar further said that efforts were on to try the minor accused as an adult. "We have started the process of appointing a special counsel in the case so that our side should be kept strongly in the case in court. Police are on the stringent way to handle this case," CP Kumar said.

- CP Kumar, however, refuted the allegations that the police officers present at the time when the accused was brought to the police station delayed the process and fed the teen pizza to lower the alcohol levels. "There is no fact about the pizza party at the police station," CP Kumar said.

- He also said that there was no truth in the allegations of the accused being given preferential treatment and promised to take action against police personnel for any negligence. "On the allegations of preferential treatment given to the accused as of now, nothing has been found in the investigation. If we receive any information that the eyewitness had to face any trouble, action will be taken against those police personnel as well. We have not received the blood report yet. The blood report was taken at the very first and sent to forensics. We have requested the forensics to take a DNA sample of both the samples," CP Kumar said.

ALSO READ: Pune Porsche Crash: Accused's Mother Flags Viral Rap Video, Urges Police To Protect Son | Watch

- The Pune Police on Thursday also questioned the grandfather of the minor accused in connection with the case. A forensic team has carried out a detailed investigation of the car -- currently under the custody of the Yerawada Police Station -- and its report is expected soon.

- Meanwhile, a purported rap video has gone viral on social media, with claims that the accused youth recorded the video inside the police station. However, the police chief said that it was a fake, and made by some other person. "We are probing the fake video case, who has made it and the motives behind it, and take appropriate action," Kumar said.

 

(With Agencies Inputs)