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The blood sample of the minor, who was allegedly driving the Porsche that crashed into and killed two people in Pune on May 19, was replaced at Sassoon General Hospital with a sample given by his mother, sources in the Maharashtra government said, citing an inquiry report.
While the minor was taken into custody after the accident, and his father and grandfather were subsequently arrested, the focus soon shifted to the involvement of two doctors and a class IV staffer — from B J Government Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital — who are accused of throwing away the blood sample collected from the minor and replacing it with another. The two doctors and the staffer have also been arrested.
On Tuesday, a special investigation team was sent to Sassoon hospital, where they questioned a series of officials and viewed the CCTV footage.
Sources in the government told The Indian Express that the team submitted an inquiry report saying that it was the boy’s mother who had given her blood sample to replace her son’s.
According to the sources, the inquiry also found that the blood samples collected from two others who were in the Porsche had also been replaced by the brother and father of the respective persons. There were a total of four persons in the car — the minor boy who was allegedly driving the Porsche, his two friends, and a driver.
Meanwhile, the Pune Police submitted to a special court Thursday that the blood sample of the minor, and the sample that replaced his, were both drawn in an area of the hospital that was not covered by CCTV cameras.
Dr Ajay Taware, the former head of Sassoon hospital’s Forensic Department, and Dr Shrihari Harnol, who was the casualty medical officer at the time, were the two doctors arrested in connection with the switching of the sample. The two, along with class IV staffer Atul Ghatkamble, were produced in court Thursday by Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sunil Tambe of the Crime Branch, who sought an extension of their remand. Special Judge P P Jadhav extended their police remand until June 5.
Prosecution lawyer Nitin Konghe told the court that the blood samples were deliberately drawn at a place in Sassoon hospital that is not covered by CCTV cameras. “We also need to locate and seize the seal of the minor’s name put on the replaced blood sample sent for testing,” the lawyer submitted.
Police also told the court that so far, they recovered Rs 3 lakh from the accused persons – Rs 50,000 from Ghatkamble and Rs 2.5 lakh from Halnor – and hence have invoked Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
“There have been many WhatsApp and regular calls among the accused and some other persons. We need to identify the other persons involved in the crime, and hence need custodial interrogation. We also need to identify the property accumulated by the accused persons from indulging in corrupt practices,” ACP Tambe said.
Defence lawyers opposed the extension of custody. Advocate Vipul Dushing argued that Dr Taware was not at the spot where the blood samples were allegedly replaced. He also argued that it was normal for Taware and his colleague, Dr Harnol, to communicate over the phone as they worked together. Advocate Rhishikesh Ganu, for Dr Halnor, and advocate Ruturaj Ranaware, for Ghatkamble, also argued that the extension of police custody of their clients was not required for further investigation.
The minor’s father is set to be produced in court Friday. The father and grandfather were arrested for allegedly abducting the driver, who they had employed for the Porsche, and forcing him to take the blame for the May 19 accident.
