 "Decoy cars, new SIM: Here's how father of Pune teen 'tried to evade' police")
The father of the 17-year-old boy, who is accused of driving a luxury car that crushed two people in Pune on Sunday, deployed decoy cars, a new phone card and security cameras to evade arrest, it is alleged.
The accident occurred in Kalyani Nagar when the boy crashed a Porsche into a motorcycle, killing Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa at around 2.15 am.
Amitesh Kumar, Pune’s Commissioner of Police, said the minor had been celebrating his Class 12 results at a pub and was seen drinking before the collision. In Maharashtra, the legal drinking age is 25, rendering the service of alcohol to him illegal. Consequently, the owners of the bar are also facing charges for serving alcohol to a minor.
The police have charged the boy with rash and negligent driving and causing harm by endangering life or personal safety under IPC Sections 304A, 279, 337, 338, and 427, as well as relevant sections of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Act.
Pune Police arrested his father, a real estate developer, in Aurangabad. He allegedly planned an intricate escape using multiple vehicles to mislead the police. Shortly after an FIR was registered against him for permitting his underage son to drive, he promptly fled the scene. He asked his driver to head towards Mumbai and instructed another driver to a separate vehicle to Goa in an attempt to confuse the police, according to a report in Moneycontrol.
He deviated from his route to Mumbai, opting instead to drive to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as Aurangabad, using a vehicle belonging to a friend.
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Reports show that numerous vehicles were reportedly used by the builder to confuse the police. In an effort to evade phone tracking by investigators, he procured a new SIM card. Upon learning that the builder was using his friend's vehicle, the police initiated GPS tracking on the car. Using CCTV footage of his route, a team from the Pune crime branch successfully identified him.
The real estate developer was arrested during an early-morning raid at a resort in Sambhajinagar on May 21.
The Pune police arrested the father of the teen 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). Moreover, the police have initiated legal proceedings against the pub where the minor was observed consuming alcohol.
The father of the teen will be produced in a Pune court on May 22, the same day the Juvenile Justice Board is expected to decide if the 17-year-old can be tried as an adult
The Porsche hit two information technology professionals, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, who have their homes in Madhya Pradesh. Eyewitnesses said Ashwini was thrown 20 ft in the air, while Aneesh was hurled into a parked car. Following the collision, bystanders rushed to the scene, and several videos have emerged showing them beating up the occupants of the vehicle.