• By Mayukh Debnath
  • Tue, 28 May 2024 12:01 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Pune Porsche Crash Case: Prominent real estate developer Vishal Agarwal, who is the father of the juvenile accused in the Pune Porsche crash case, was taken into custody by the crime branch of Pune Police on Friday from Yervada Jail, where he was lodged after being remanded to judicial custody earlier. Vishal Agarwal's arrest by the crime branch came in connection with the alleged abduction of his driver, who had come forward to take the blame for the car crash, which left two people dead in Pune earlier this month. The minor accused's grandfather, Surendra Agarwal, has also been named in the FIR pertaining to the driver's alleged kidnapping.

During the day, two doctors and one other employee of the government-run Sassoon Hospital were arrested over the alleged replacement of the blood sample of the teenager collected following the crash. The two doctors and the hospital employee have been remanded to police custody till May 30. It has been claimed by the prosecution that Vishal Agarwal had called one of the doctors and instructed him to replace the sample, which was collected to detect the presence of alcohol in the minor accused's blood during the car crash.

Pune Porsche Case: Latest Developments

- A Pune court on Monday allowed the crime branch to take custody of Vishal Agarwal in connection with the alleged kidnapping and "wrongful confinement" of his driver.

- On Monday, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that the doctors at Sasson Hospital had replaced the blood sample of the juvenile accused in the luxury car crash with another one and threw the real sample in the hospital's dustbin.

- The doctors arrested on Monday are Dr Ajay Taware, head of Sassoon Hospital's Forensic Medicine department, and Dr Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer. The staffer arrested alongside them has been identified as Atul Ghatkamble, who works under Dr Tawre.

- "On May 19, at around 11 am the blood sample that was taken at Sassoon Hospital was thrown in a dustbin of the hospital and the blood sample of another person was taken and sent to the forensic lab. CMO Srihari Halnor replaced this blood sample. During the investigation, we found Srihari Halnor replaced this on the instructions of the HOD Forensic Medicine Department of Sassoon, Ajay Tawre," the top cop stated.

"We suspected that in the first report, the doctor gave a clean chit to the juvenile over alcohol consumption. After which a second sample was taken secretly and was sent for DNA sampling. The report also matched the DNA of the juvenile's father," the official added.

- The police suspect that those accused of replacing the original blood sample received "kickbacks", news agency PTI reported.

- A team comprising Porsche representatives visited the Yerwada police station on Monday to carry out a technical inspection of the luxury car involved in the crash, an official cited by PTI said.

(With inputs from agencies)