The Kalyaninagar-Pune case, where a drunk minor drove his Porsche car at high speed killing two youth- Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa has grabbed national attention. From the Juvenile Justice Board’s previous bail application of treating the wealthy minor accused with kid gloves to the political pressure exerted on the police to dilute the case has drawn sharp public anger.
The role of Vishal Agarwal, a wealthy builder in Pune, who gave his luxury Porsche car, which did not have a registered number plate, to his 17-year-old son has also been questioned.
If you enjoyed reading this article, you can help support our journalism by adding OHeraldo as a preferred source.
The minor accused took his friends and partied at a bar until 12:30 am, drank alcohol and drove at high speed, running over two passers-by on a motorcycle. Police revealed that the minor did not even have a driving licence.
The controversial role of Pune Police in this entire case and allegations over leniency by the Juvenile Justice Board which initially granted bail to the minor car driver within 14 hours of the incident drew flak from the public for trying to save the builder’s son as one of the conditions imposed by the court on the accused was to write a 300-word essay on road accidents and their solutions.
As public anger began to mount, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to come before the media and assure that those responsible for the accident would not be spared.
Vishal Agarwal, the builder father of this car driver boy, along with the owner and manager of the pub where the boy was served alcohol till late night were arrested and remanded in police custody till May 24 only after mounting public pressure.
But this whole affair has raised many serious questions. The first thing is that in such cases, a section pertaining to culpable homicide is registered under 304 of the Indian Penal Code. The offence under this section is non-bailable. Then why didn’t the police immediately impose these sections in this case? How did this happen even though the ‘Juvenile Justice Act’ was recently amended to impose such serious clauses on minors accused in serious crimes.
It is mentioned in the police FIR that the minor accused had consumed alcohol but the breath analyser report mentioned that there was no alcohol. Hence, everyone raised questions about the dubious role of the police all involved in shielding the accused. After that, the CCTV footage of the hotel where the accused consumed alcohol also went viral on social media.
The police have now arrested the owner of the hotel where the accused consumed alcohol and the liquor bill of Rs 78,000 has also been submitted to the court. The demand of the relatives of the youth who lost their lives in the tragic accident is that the accused who are responsible for all this should be severely punished, which is right. The arrogance and attitude of such people, who think that one can buy the system with the power of money, must be nipped in the bud.
This accident recalls to mind the gory Banastarim accident in Goa where the victims are yet to get justice.
If you look at many road accidents in Goa, the traffic police have found that many drivers are minors. But the saddest and most shocking question is how these minors have been issued driving licenses?
It is said that the police have installed automatic camera systems at many places to bring overspeeding vehicles under control. But the speed of vehicles does not seem to slow down. How many people who drive under the influence of alcohol have been prosecuted by the police is a million dollar question.
The role of the father who hands over an expensive car to a minor who does not have a licence is questionable. The minor drinking at such a tender age in bars at odd hours only speaks volumes of the child’s upbringing by his parents.
The police arrested the errant father only after the public raised a hue and cry. Till then, Vishal Agarwal was missing and having a field day and this was just not possible without political blessings. It is alleged that the MLA of Ajit Pawar group of NCP, Sunil Tingre, tried to save the builder by putting political pressure. It is also alleged that the builder has strong connections with the underworld.
Another reason to cast aspersions on the role police in this whole case is that the Porsche car that the accused was driving did not even have a registered number plate. Investigations have revealed that the car was brought to Pune from Bangalore about 2 months ago. So, if a car was running in Pune without a number plate during all this time, how come no one noticed it?
Driving any vehicle without a number plate is an offence under the law. The question that arises is why no action was initiated against this car and its driver. The Home Minister has said that an inquiry will be conducted.
Rahul Gandhi also shared the video and raised questions about the police action in the Pune accident case. Now the challenge before the Pune Police is to bring the accused to the harshest punishment as two innocent lives have been lost.
