5 months ago
9
Three days after bail was granted to the Pune teenager who rammed his Porsche into a motorcycle, killing two IT professionals in their 20s, the Juvenile Justice Board has modified its order and sent him to a remand home till June 5. The boy's lawyer said this has been done keeping in mind that there may be a threat to his life because of public anger.
On Sunday, the Board had granted bail to the 17-year-old within 15 hours of the accident and asked him to write an essay on road accidents, prompting nationwide outrage.
Apart from a personal bond, a surety and a 300-word essay on road safety, the boy - who is the son of a prominent Pune builder - was asked to visit the regional transport office, study all rules and regulations, and give a presentation.
He was also asked to undergo de-addiction counselling for alcohol consumption and consult psychiatrists.
The accident took place around 2.15 am, when the teenager, who had been drinking with his friends in two pubs in Pune to celebrate his Class 12 results, knocked down the two 24-year-old IT professionals in the Kalyani Nagar area in the Rs 2.5-crore Porsche. Aneesh Awadhiya, who was riding the bike was sent flying and hit a parked car, while Ashwini Koshta - who was riding pillion - was flung 20 feet into the air. Both of them died on the spot.
At 17 years and 8 months old, the teenager was four months short of the legal age for driving. The legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25 years.
Speaking to NDTV on Tuesday, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar had said the teenager had the knowledge that his act could cause death.
"Here, we are not applying a case of 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code of drunken driving and a rash and negligent act. We are applying Section 304, where we are saying that he had the knowledge that his rash act - where he was driving a Porsche without a number plate at a rash speed on a narrow street after consuming alcohol - could cause or was likely to cause death," Mr Kumar said.
Father In Custody
Earlier in the day, the father of the Pune teenager had been remanded in police custody for two days by a sessions court in Pune.
The realtor had been charged under Sections 75 (wilful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses) and 77 (supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs) of the Juvenile Justice Act.
Police had said the boy's father had gone on the run after a first information report was filed against him. To throw the cops off his scent, he left home in his car and asked the driver of that vehicle to head to Mumbai while another driver was asked to leave for Goa in a different car.
The builder got off the vehicle en route to Mumbai and then hopped into a friend's car to proceed towards Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. He also started using a new SIM card to make it difficult to trace him, said officials.
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