5 months ago
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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised strong action against the teen who crashed his high-end car into a motorbike, killing two people on the spot. Mr Fadnavis condemned the "lenient" punishment given to the boy by the Juvenile Justice Board - 300-word essay on accidents, working with the traffic police for 15 days and undergoing counselling for his drinking - in contrast with the heinous crime. "How can the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board give such an order," he asked.
The Porsche car allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk at the time, knocked down two IT professionals in Kalyani Nagar area of the city in the early hours of Sunday. Witnesses said Ashwini was thrown 20 feet in the air and Aneesh was flung into a parked car. Passersby were seen rushing to the spot after the collision. Several videos showed locals beating up the occupants of the car.
"We have appealed to the district court against the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board order There is a huge public outrage. I have taken stock of the investigation updates till now," he said.
The minor, son of a prominent realtor in Pune, was seen drinking with his friends at a bar hours before the crash. The police have arrested the owners of the bar for allowing underage drinking. The legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25.
The boy had gone to "two restaurants with 10-12 friends on Saturday night, where they were served alcohol", the police said.
"The minor is 17 years 8 months old and as per the Nirbhaya case anyone above 16-year-old above should be considered as adult in case of heinous crimes," stressed the Deputy Chief Minister.
The teen was caught but granted bail within 15 hours of the incident, sparking massive public outrage. The father has now been arrested under sections 75 (willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses) and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act (supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs).
Mr Fadnavis also detailed the government's steps to avoid similar incidents in future: "Administration has been alerted to take closure action against those pubs where violations are found and drink driving checks by police on important places."
The accident has also sparked a political row with Uddhav Thackeray camp leader Sanjay Raut questioning the Pune Police over the alleged delay in action against the teen.
Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, however, has been claiming that he had sought permission from the board to try the minor as an adult and send him to an observation home as the crime was heinous, but the plea was rejected. The police have now approached the District Court.
Amitesh Kumar dared the opposition and others to prove their charges that the police acted under pressure or went soft on the accused minor whose father is a reputed realty developer in the city.
The police have also arrested the owner of Cosie Bar for allegedly serving alcohol illegally to a minor customer and his friends.
Speaking to NDTV, Mr Kumar said that they were building a watertight case against the teen to try him as a minor. "Despite the blood report coming out negative or positive, we are trying to prove it is a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder," he said.
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