The hit-and-run case in Pune has exposed some startling facts that have caused people to pause and reflect on several issues, chief among them the functioning of our legal system and how the wealthy escape punishment for heinous crimes. After being asked to write an essay on accidents as ‘punishment’, the juvenile had been granted bail on the assurance of his grandfather, the grandfather who himself has underworld connections.
Later on Wednesday (22nd May), the Juvenile Justice Board, however, cancelled the bail granted to the teenage driver and sent him 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.
Now, a report by India Today has quoted CBI sources as saying that Surendra Kumar Agarwal, the grandfather of the accused who started the family’s construction business, is facing trial for contracting the gangster Chhota Rajan’s shooter in 2009 to kill Shiv Sena’s Ajay Bhosale.
Surendra Kumar Agarwal had ironically, stood surety for the bail of his accused grandson. He also assured the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) that the minor would mend his ways. This means that it was on his assurance that the court granted bail to the 17-year-old.
Notably, the teenager, who allegedly crashed his Porsche into a motorbike killing two software engineers at Kalyani Nagar in Maharashtra’s Pune on Sunday, is the son of now-arrested real estate developer Vishal Agarwal.
The juvenile justice board gave the boy, who was intoxicated at the time of the accident, bail in exchange for a Rs 7,500 surety and his grandfather’s promise to keep him away from bad company.
However, reports have now emerged that the grandfather, on whose assurance the court granted bail to the teen, was himself booked by Pune police for hiring a mercenary from Chhota Rajan’s gang to kill a Shiv Sena corporator, Ajay Bhosale.
According to Hindustan Times, the accused’s grandfather had in 2009, first given the contract to the gangster to mediate with his brother with whom he was having a dispute over the division of multiple properties, the CBI said.
Chhota Rajan, in turn, got in touch with Bhosale, who was close to the brother, in an attempt to get him to help his client win the dispute. Bhosale refrained from interfering as he was in the midst of contesting the 2009 assembly elections from Wadgaon-Sheri on a Shiv Sena ticket. According to the CBI, Rajan’s client instructed the gangster to kill Bhosale because he thought the latter was biased towards his brother. As Bhosale’s car went through Koregaon Park, a hitman opened fire, but the bullet missed its target and wounded his driver. Bhosale got away unharmed.
Speaking to Hindustan Times on Wednesday (May 22), Bhosale said, “Sometime in 2009, I was contacted by Chhota Rajan to intervene in the property disputes between two brothers (the teen’s grandfather and his sibling). Since I refused, the builder gave a contract to Rajan and accordingly the attack on me was orchestrated on October 11, 2009.”
Interestingly, the builder’s name was left out from the FIR that was filed with the Bund Garden police station. The CBI then took over the case, unravelling the plot to assassinate Bhosale and leading them to the builder, who is well-known in Pune for his high-end residential developments in the eastern regions of the city.
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.
