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Journalism of Courage
TWO DAYS after a speeding Porsche being driven by an allegedly inebriated 17-year-old boy knocked down a motorcycle, killing two young software engineers, police Tuesday arrested the minor’s father, a prominent realtor in Pune. He has been booked under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly allowing his minor son to drive as well as consume liquor.
The police have also invoked provisions of the Motor Vehicle Act for allowing a minor to drive without licence.
The police also arrested four more persons linked to two restaurants for serving liquor to the minor and his friends, hours before the crash early Sunday. The district authorities have sealed the two Koregaon Park establishments — Blak and Cosie – after the Excise Department found non-compliances during an inspection.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told The Indian Express that the minor’s father, who was on the run after being booked under the Juvenile Justice Act, was detained in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and placed under arrest after being brought back to the city. He will be produced in court on Wednesday.
In the same offence, the police arrested four more persons — Cosie restaurant owner Naman Bhutada (25) and its manager Sachin Katkar (35); and two managers of Blak restaurant, Sandip Sangale (34) and Jayesh Bonkar. A court remanded Naman, Katkar and Sangale in police custody for three days. Naman’s father Pralhad Bhutada (58) has also been named as an accused and asked by the police to join the probe.
The police probe has revealed that the minor accused and his friends had gone to the two restaurants between 9.30 pm Saturday and 1 am Sunday and consumed alcohol.
A couple of hours later, the speeding Porsche driven by the minor knocked down a motorcycle in Yerwada area, killing Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwani Koshtha, two engineers working in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area.
Police Commissioner Kumar said, “The blood report is yet to be received…. But the CCTV footage and online payment receipts of the accused clearly show that he had consumed alcohol.”
At a press briefing, Kumar said, “On a very narrow stretch of road the driver was driving in an inebriated condition at a very high speed. This is a heinous crime and that is why we had filed an application that he be tried as an adult.”
“We have filed one more application that till the time the first application is decided, the juvenile be remanded to juvenile care home. Both applications have been unfortunately disallowed,” he said. “We have challenged the court’s decision in the district court and we are exploring legal remedies. Our stand is that this juvenile be tried as an adult.”
