Pune Porsche crash: Rs 3 lakh 'paid to swap' teen's blood sample, peon held

A peon from Sassoon General Hospital in Pune was arrested for allegedly accepting a Rs 3 lakh bribe to swap a teen's blood sample involved in a Porsche crash with an alcohol-free one

In a new development in the Pune Porsche car crash, the authorities have arrested a peon at the Sassoon General Hospital on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 3 lakh. The bribe, intended for two senior doctors, allegedly facilitated the replacement of the juvenile driver's blood samples with those from another individual, devoid of any traces of alcohol, reported News18.

Earlier on Monday, the Pune Police detained the two doctors, identified as Ajay Taware, head of the forensic medicine department at Sassoon General Hospital, and Shrihari Halnor, the hospital's chief medical officer. They are accused of tampering with the blood samples of the teen driver involved in the incident. Later, Atul Ghatkamble, a peon employed under Dr Ajay Taware, was also placed under arrest. The trio has been remanded to police custody till May 30.

 

The accident, which claimed the lives of two young information technology professionals, occurred when their motorcycle was struck by a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by the minor, in the early hours of May 19 in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area. Police claim that the 17-year-old was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.

Here's what we know so far about the Pune Porsche crash:

1. The Pune Police suspects financial transactions, in the form of 'kickbacks' , had taken place in the alleged replacement of the original blood sample of the teen driver blamed for the car crash with another person's sample by two doctors of state-run Sassoon Hospital.

2. Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, at a press briefing on Monday, said the blood samples of the juvenile driver were disposed of and replaced with those from another individual.

3. Dr Ajay Taware, Dr Shrihari Halnor, and Atul Ghatkamble have been remanded in police custody till May 30 by the court, despite the prosecution seeking a 10-day extension for their custody.

4. Prosecutors allege that Vishal Agarwal, the juvenile's father and a realtor, contacted one of the doctors to arrange for the replacement of the blood samples.

5. Additional Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 201, 120-B, 467, 213, and 214, have been appended to the original charges against the juvenile in connection with the Porsche crash case.

6. In a separate development, the court granted permission for the police to detain Vishal Agarwal from Yerwada Central Jail regarding a case of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of his driver. Representatives from Porsche also conducted a technical examination of the luxury car involved in the accident.

7. Commissioner Amitesh Kumar revealed that investigations uncovered Vishal Agarwal as the individual who contacted Dr Ajay Taware, offering allurements to replace the blood samples. Police sources confirmed that multiple calls were made by the juvenile's father to Dr Taware.

8. The Pune Police Commissioner highlighted that the blood sample manipulation was exposed when an additional sample was sent for DNA analysis to another hospital. Efforts are underway to retrieve CCTV footage and DVR records from Sassoon General Hospital to ascertain the identities of those who visited the doctors.

9. Initially granted bail by the juvenile justice board with a directive to compose a 300-word essay on road accidents, the teenager involved in the Porsche crash was subsequently remanded to an observation home until June 5 following public outcry and a police review application.

10. Initial reports suggesting the absence of alcohol in the juvenile's system were also contradicted by CCTV footage from a bar he purportedly visited, which allegedly captured him consuming alcohol with his friends.

(With agency inputs)