A 17-year-old boy who was driving a speeding Porsche that struck a bike in Pune on Saturday night, resulting in the deaths of a man and a woman, was released on bail just 15 hours after his arrest.
His lawyer, Prashant Patil, stated that the court granted bail under certain conditions: the minor must work with traffic police in Yerwada for 15 days, write an essay on accidents, undergo treatment for his drinking habit, and attend counselling sessions. The accused is the son of a prominent Pune realtor.
The victims, 24-year-olds Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both engineers from Madhya Pradesh working in Pune, were returning from a get-together with friends on a bike.
Eyewitnesses reported that the Porsche, allegedly traveling at over 200 km per hour without number plates, hit the bike, causing Ashwini to be thrown 20 feet into the air and Aneesh to be hurled into a parked car. Both died instantly.
“The accident took place around 2.15 am. The car was speeding. The driver attempted to flee after the collision, but the airbags deployed, obstructing his view, so he parked the car. Locals then apprehended him. Besides the driver, there were two occupants in the car. One escaped, but the other two were caught and beaten by the crowd,” an eyewitness, an auto-rickshaw operator, recounted. Police arrived at the scene within 15 minutes.
The minor, it is reported, was returning from a pub where he and his friends were celebrating their successful completion of Class 12 exams. Following a complaint from a friend of one of the victims, an FIR was registered under sections related to death by negligence and rash driving.
The teenager’s father and the pub that served him alcohol are also expected to face charges, according to police.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar indicated that police had requested the court to treat the accused as an adult due to the severity of the crime and sought his custody. The police plan to challenge the bail order in a higher court. Kumar stated, “The father of the juvenile accused, who handed over this car without a number plate to him and allowed him to go to a pub, has also been proceeded against. The establishment that served alcohol has also been proceeded against.”
The case is now under the scrutiny of an Assistant Commissioner of Police-level officer, aiming to build a strong case. The police commissioner confirmed that the boy was driving under the influence of alcohol, with several eyewitnesses corroborating that he and his friends were heavily intoxicated.
The incident has sparked significant outrage, with many criticizing the lenient laws that fail to deter reckless driving and underage driving. Anurag Kulshrestha, president of an NGO focused on road safety, commented, “There is no fear of law. In Pune, when authorities tried to enforce the helmet rule, all political parties came out to protest. We are living in an indisciplined society.”
Read all the World News, Business News, Sports News, Entertainment News, Business News and Opinion here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
