The grandfather of the Pune teen, who ran over two 24-year-old techies in a late-night drunken dash in a Porsche, has been arrested after the family’s driver alleged that he was wrongfully confined, threatened and told to take the blame for the accident, sources in the police have said. Kidnapping charges may also be invoked against the grandfather, the sources added.
Pune Police yesterday said efforts were made to force the driver to take blame minutes after the accident. After the accident, the grandfather locked up the driver and asked him to take the blame as the family tried to shield the minor, the sources said. He also told him that the family would ensure he is released too, the sources added.
“The teen’s grandfather and father allegedly took the driver’s phone, put him in confinement in his house on the premises of their bungalow from May 19 to May 20. The driver was freed by his wife,” said an official from the crime branch, which is probing the case.
Two engineers — Ashwini Kostha and Anish Awadhiya — were on the bike when the Porsche, being driven at 200 km per hour, hit their bike from behind. The two died on the spot. Police have said the 17-year-old accused, son of a prominent Pune realtor, was heavily drunk at the time of the accident. He was granted bail within 15 hours of the accident on the conditions seen as flimsy. He was asked to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, told to work with traffic cops for 15 days and seek counselling for his drinking habit.
Amid nationwide outrage, the Juvenile Justice Board later modified the order and sent him to an observation home till a police plea for permission to try him as an adult is decided. The boy’s father and staff of two bars the teenager visited that night were also arrested under relevant sections of the Juvenile Justice Act.