Pune car crash: An essay writing punishment that opened the debate on road safety

The case that caused a national uproar after a Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) granted bail to a juvenile on lenient terms, including writing a 300-word essay on road safety, has opened a debate on strict road safety laws in the country.

The incident that took place on May 19, when a speeding high-end Porsche car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old under the influence of alcohol, crashed into two IT professionals in Kalyani Nagar area of Pune. The incident hit the national headlines raising concerns about underage driving despite strict laws in the country. With the growing trend of driving and riding bikes, the enforcement officials are often seen falling short in allowing minors to access vehicles on the roads.

The deceased in the Pune car crash case were identified as Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh.

In a surprising turn of events, the Pune Police swung into action and found that the case that just looked like an accident had a larger conspiracy behind it. The police launched a fresh round of investigations in the matter after the State Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde ordered a detailed enquiry into the matter. The police officials moved the court and appealed for the juvenile to be tried as an adult and began to trace the whereabouts of his father, a wealthy real estate businessman who was eventually detained and later arrested from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra.

Moreover, bail conditions for the minor including writing a 300-word essay on road safety opened a lid of a larger 'criminal conspiracy' into the crime after the case caused a national uproar and widespread criticism on social media platforms against lenient law for juveniles allegedly involved in serious crimes.

On the intervening night of a weekend in May, the juvenile along with his friends went to Cosie restaurant Hotel Blak and allegedly consumed liquor, the police had earlier said.

A senior police official, now retired, explained, "The law enforcement officials cannot alone control incidents like what happened in Pune, the parents of the teenagers or minors also have an important role to play. The parents can restrict their children from getting access to the keys of the vehicles whereas in Pune case it was the boy's father who gifted him an expensive car. It shows a serious lack of judgement to let an underage, probably drunk adolescent operate a high-performance car like a Porsche."

The entire episode highlights the need for parents to keep a closer eye on their children's activities, he said.

The official added, "The incident underscores the need for thorough street checks and stringent penalties. The police, during nakabandis, need to rigorously enforce underage driving and drunk driving, with severe penalties for violations to avoid such incidents."

As the investigations proceeded, the police learnt that the blood samples that were initially collected to conduct a test to find out if the minor was under the influence of alcohol were replaced leading to the arrest of a hospital employee and two doctors.

"The blood samples would play an important role in prosecuting a suspect since it can be established that a person involved in a crime was under the influence of alcohol. The blood samples in the Pune car crash case may have been replaced with an alleged view to make the case weaker," said an official.

The Maharashtra government had later suspended the two doctors of the hospital arrested in connection with the Pune car crash case. The doctors were practising at the Sassoon General Hospital and were arrested for allegedly swapping the blood sample of the minor. Later, a forensic laboratory report confirmed that blood samples of the mother were used to replace those of the 17-year-old driver. The teenager's mother was arrested on the charges of conspiracy on June 1.

More shocking revelations cropped up after the investigators found the driver of the family was allegedly forced to take the blame of the accident on himself. The grandfather of the juvenile was later jailed in the matter for an alleged unlawful imprisonment of the family driver following the car crash. The prosecution had told the court that the minor's father and grandfather allegedly paid cash and gifts to the family driver before threatening him to accept responsibility for the accident.

Meanwhile, weeks after the high-end luxury car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old juvenile crashed into two IT professionals, a committee formed to look into the actions of two Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) members regarding the bail granted to the juvenile has reportedly discovered "misconduct," "procedural lapses," and "non-compliance of norms."