The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) granted permission on Friday for the Pune police's crime branch to question the 17-year-old accused involved in the Porsche accident case. The questioning is to be conducted for two hours under the supervision of the jail superintendent.
Shailesh Balkawade, the Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime), confirmed that the JJB approved their request. The accident, which occurred on May 19 in the Kalyani Nagar area, resulted in the deaths of two IT professionals, Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. The 17-year-old boy is alleged to have been driving the Porsche at high speed and under the influence of alcohol when he hit the victim's bike.
The case has been controversial, with allegations of preferential treatment and connections to the underworld surrounding the accused's family. Initially, the minor was granted bail but was later placed in an observation home until June 5 following public outcry.
The Maharashtra government responded to the controversy by forming a committee to investigate the conduct of the JJB members and ensure that proper procedures were followed in the case. The committee, led by a deputy commissioner, is expected to submit its report by next week, as stated by Prashant Narnavare, the commissioner of the Women and Child Department.
In addition to the minor, his father, Vishal Agrawal, a real estate developer, and his grandfather have also been arrested. They face allegations of attempting to bribe and threaten the family's driver to take the blame for the accident. Furthermore, two doctors and a staff member of Sassoon General Hospital were arrested for allegedly tampering with the minor's blood samples to show he was not under the influence of alcohol.
Earlier on Friday, Judicial Magistrate (First Class) A A Pande remanded Vishal Agrawal and his father to judicial custody for 14 days in connection with the driver kidnapping case. Police investigations revealed that approximately a dozen calls were exchanged between the juvenile's father and Dr. Ajay Taware, one of the arrested doctors, during the time the blood samples were being collected for alcohol testing.
