Pune accident case: Three accused get police custody till May 24

The damaged car in police custody. Pic/PTI

A Maharashtra's Pune court on Tuesday remanded three accused - an owner and two managers of different restaurants - in police custody till May 24 in the case of a car accident allegedly involving a 17-year-old boy that claimed the lives of two persons, reported the PTI.

According to the PTI, The suspects identified as Naman Pralhad Bhutda, the owner of Cosie restaurant, its manager Sachin Katkar, and the manager of Blak Club hotel Sandip Sangle were produced before the court in Pune.

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While seeking their custody for seven days, the prosecution told the court that the establishments owned or managed by the accused served liquor to the boy and his friends without confirming his age.

Hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence, Additional Sessions Court Judge S P Ponkshe remanded the three accused in police custody till May 24, as per the PTI.

A Porsche car, allegedly driven by the boy, who the police claim was drunk at the time, knocked down two motorbike riders in the Kalyani Nagar area of Pune city in the early hours of Sunday, causing their deaths, police said.

The deceased were identified as Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh.

On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday, the accused juvenile along with his friends went to the two establishments between 9.30 pm and 1 am and allegedly consumed liquor, the police said.

The police have detained the boy's father, who is a real estate developer, and arrested three executives of two hotels for serving liquor to the juvenile, the news agency reported on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday expressed shock and surprise over the Juvenile Justice Board taking a lenient view of the Pune accident case.

Amid an outrage over the accident involving the 17-year-old boy who crashed his Porsche car into a motorcycle in Kalyani Nagar in the early hours of Sunday allegedly in an inebriated state, Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, made a surprise visit to the Pune Police commissionerate office to review the case.

Addressing the media after meeting police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and other officials, Devendra Fadnavis said that the police have approached higher court seeking permission to try the juvenile, who was granted bail, as an adult.

After the crash, the accused teenager was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which granted him bail hours later. It also directed him to visit the Regional Transport Office and study traffic rules, and submit a presentation to the Board within 15 days.

"The CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) will write an essay of 300 words on the topic of road accidents and their solutions," the JJ board order read, according to the PTI.

"The order passed by the JJ Board was shocking and surprising as it had taken a very lenient view of such a heinous crime. The Pune police had petitioned the board to allow them to treat the teenager as an adult as his age is 17 years and eight months. But the board kept the application aside by categorising it as 'seen and filed' and released him on bail which led to public outrage," said Devendra Fadnavis, the PTI reported on Tuesday.

The higher court has asked the police to approach the JJ board again and seek a review of its order, said the deputy CM.

(with PTI inputs)