In a recent development in the Pune Porsche crash case, police arrested the mother of a teen allegedly accused of running over two people while driving a luxury car on Saturday. Reportedly, the mother swapped her blood sample to prove that her son was not drunk while driving. This is the fourth arrest from the family, with the minor, father, and grandfather already apprehended.
Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar has confirmed that the investigations have revealed that the minor’s blood samples were swapped with those of his mother.
The Case
In the early hours of May 19, a teenager, the son of a wealthy family, allegedly killed two young techies while driving a luxury car. The Juvenile Justice Board granted him bail quickly, which caused a furor. Since then, the police investigation has revealed how the boy’s family, the police, and doctors came together to protect him.
The Blame Game
While the 17-year-old minor was sent to the observation home, his father and grandfather allegedly kidnapped the family’s driver and put pressure on him to take the blame. Reportedly, they first tried to convince the family driver to take the blame in lieu of cash. When he refused to take the blame, they kidnapped him and kept forcing him to confess.
Irregularities have also been reported in the 17-year old minor’s medical examination at a state-run Sassoon hospital, and Maharashtra Medical Education has appointed a three-member committee headed by Dr. Pallavi Sapale, dean of Mumbai-based Grants Medical College, to look into the matter.
The Pune Police have received permission to question the minor in the presence of his counsellors and members of his family. The juvenile, lodged at the Yerawada Correction Centre, will be questioned for at least two hours.
The teen’s mother had earlier appeared in a video message and had requested the police “protect” her son. She claimed the video purportedly featuring her son was fake.
The teenager is the son of real estate developer Vishal Agarwal. He was initially granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), with a condition to write a 300-word essay, sparking a massive public outrage.
The Pune Police later approached the JJB, which remanded the boy to an observation home for 14 days until June 5.
Reaction of the Victim’s Family
The victims of the car accident have demanded severe punishment for both the accused boy and his parents, holding them accountable for their children’s deaths.
“We were supposed to send her off in a palanquin (to the groom’s house) after her wedding (in the future), but now we were forced to carry her body on a bier.” Ashwini’s mother said this after performing her last rites.
