Pune Porsche Crash Case – Two Senior Doctors Arrested for Tampering with Blood Sample from the government-run Sassoon General Hospital of a minor who is accused of causing the deaths of two young engineers in a Porsche crash on May 19, while allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol.
Dr. Ajay Taware, head of the hospital’s forensic medicine department, and Dr. Shrihari Harnol, were arrested, confirmed Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Monday.
The incident occurred when a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, collided with a motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction in Pune, resulting in the deaths of Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. Bystanders at the scene restrained the boy and handed him over to the police. An FIR was filed at the Yerwada police station around 8 am, and the boy was subsequently taken to Sassoon Hospital for a medical examination, where blood samples were collected around 11 am.
Commissioner Amitesh Kumar acknowledged a delay in the collection of the blood samples. During the investigation, it was discovered that doctors at Sassoon Hospital had allegedly switched the minor’s blood sample before sending it for a forensic test to determine alcohol content. As a precaution, the police took an additional blood sample for DNA analysis later that evening.
Initially, the boy was charged under Section 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for causing death by negligence. This was later escalated to Section 304 of the IPC for culpable homicide. Additionally, Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act, concerning drunk driving, was added to the FIR on May 21, two days after the incident.
On May 19, the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which at the time was operating with only one non-judicial member instead of its full panel of three, granted the boy bail under various conditions, including writing an essay, studying traffic safety norms, and attending deaddiction counseling. Following public outcry, the JJB ordered the boy to be placed in an observation home until June 5.
On May 24, Inspector Rahul Jagdale and Assistant Police Inspector Vishwanath Todkari of the Yerwada police station were suspended for allegedly mishandling the investigation and failing to promptly report the accident to the wireless control room and senior officers.
Additionally, the minor’s father and grandfather, who are involved in real estate, have been arrested in connection with the case.
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