On Wednesday (22nd May), the Juvenile Justice Board cancelled the bail granted to the teenage driver who is accused of crashing his speeding Porsche, in an inebriated state, into a motorbike killing two people on the spot in Pune. The board said that the minor, who is 17 years and eight months old, would have to be sent to the Children Observation Centre. As per the order, the teen has been sent to remand home for 15 days, that is, till 5th June.
In its plea, the Pune police have demanded that the minor accused should be treated as an adult during prosecution based on the crime. Arguing for his remand before the Juvenile Justice Board, Police said, “He is not safe outside as people will possibly attack him and people are safe if he is inside”.
However, the defence counsel argued that the teen suffered from depression that’s why he got into the habit of drinking. Before the board, the accused said that he wanted to stay with his mother and would feel safe at home adding that he could further slip into depression if he is kept inside the remand home.
Meanwhile, Pune Police Commissioner, Amitesh Kumar said, “We had filed a review application before the Juvenile Justice Board to allow the juvenile to be tried as an adult and also to send him in the remand home.”
He added, “The operative order was communicated to us by the Juvenile Justice Board and the said juvenile accused has been sent to the remand home for 15 days, till June 5. The order of him being tried as an adult is awaited at the moment.”
It is pertinent to note that, before the hearing began in the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), Pune police added some more sections against the teenage accused who is 17 years 8 months of age. In addition to section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act (driving by a drunken person), sections 184 (action against those who violate traffic rules through rash or dangerous driving), 119 (age limit in connection with the driving of motor vehicles), and 177 (general provision for punishment of offences) have been added in the FIR.
In another development in the case, Sessions court on Wednesday sent the father of the teenage accused, Vishal Agarwal, a real estate developer, to two days of police custody. According to the remand copy, Vishal Agarwal was not cooperating with police in the investigation therefore, Pune police sought his custody for further questioning.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said that the accused teen will be barred from getting a driving license till he turns 25 years of age.
Pune Hit-and-run case
Early on Sunday morning (19th May), an overspeeding Porsche, reportedly driven by a drunk teenager crashed into vehicles and killed two persons in East Avenue, Kalyani Nagar, Pune. A man and a woman named Anis Awadhia and Ashwini Costa were killed in the incident.
The drunk teenager’s speeding luxury car reportedly crashed into multiple vehicles before hitting a pavement. Locals rushed to the spot and assisted the injured persons. The teenager was also caught and thrashed by locals, allegedly for trying to flee the scene. Though the teenager, the son of a builder, was arrested, he was granted bail in just 15 hours with certain conditions which created a furor on social media. He was granted bail under the condition that he would work with the Yerwada traffic police for 15 days and write a 300-word essay on road accidents. Now, the Juvenile Justice Board has cancelled the bail and sent him to remand house till 5th June.
