Two doctors from Sassoon General Hospital have been arrested for tampering with evidence in connection to the Pune Porsche crash that killed two IT professionals. The arrested individuals include Dr. Ajay Tawre, the head of the hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department, and Dr. Srihari Halnor.
The incident dates back to May 19, when a Porsche Taycan, allegedly driven by a minor, struck and killed two techies on a motorcycle at Kalyaninagar. Initial investigations revealed that the minor was under the influence of alcohol. However, the blood sample taken at Sassoon Hospital was later found to have been swapped with another, leading to manipulated reports showing no alcohol consumption.
Senior police officials discovered that the tampering occurred on the instructions of Dr. Tawre. Dr. Halnor disposed of the original sample and replaced it with another individual’s sample. As a precaution, the police collected an additional blood sample from the juvenile for DNA testing, which confirmed the manipulation when the DNA profiles did not match.
In response to these findings, the police arrested both doctors under Indian Penal Code sections 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of an offence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and other relevant sections. The juvenile’s father has also been named a co-accused in the case.
The investigation has extended to determining whose blood sample was used in the replacement. CCTV footage from Sassoon Hospital is being reviewed as part of the ongoing probe. Furthermore, the police have obtained CCTV footage from a pub the minor visited before the accident, where he allegedly paid a bill of Rs 48,000.
The minor was initially granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board and instructed to write an essay on road accidents. However, following public outcry and a police review application, he was remanded to an observation home until June 5. Additionally, the minor’s grandfather was arrested on May 25 for allegedly coercing their driver, Gangadhar, to take responsibility for the crash. A separate FIR was filed against the grandfather under IPC sections 365 and 368.
