Porsche car crash: Panel set up to probe conduct of Juvenile Justice Board members

The Maharashtra government has set up a committee to probe the conduct of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) members and check if norms were followed while issuing orders in the Pune car crash case, an official said on Wednesday (May 29).

The five-member committee was formed last week by the state woman and child development department (WCD), he said. It is headed by a deputy commissioner-rank officer from the department and is expected to submit its report by next week, the official said.

Two IT professionals in their 20s were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar area of Pune. According to the police, the teenager was drunk at the time.

The JJB granted bail to the teenager hours after the incident. It also asked him to write a 300-word essay on road accidents, an order that drew an onslaught of criticism.

Committee to probe whether JJB followed norms

WCD commissioner Prashant Narnavare said the JJB comprises a member from the judiciary and two persons appointed by the state government.

'We have formed a committee to probe the overall conduct of the JJB members appointed by the state government, to check whether norms were followed while issuing orders in the car accident case," he said.

"I have powers under the Juvenile Justice Act to probe the overall conduct of the members who have been appointed by the state government. We have set up a committee to assess the overall conduct of the JJB members in connection with the order that granted bail to the juvenile after the accident," said Narnavare.

The committee was formed immediately after the (bail) order was issued, he added.

Panel to probe manipulation of blood samples

Another three-member committee is also conducting an inquiry into the alleged manipulation of the blood samples of the juvenile driver.

On Monday (May 27), the police claimed that the juvenile's blood samples were discarded and replaced with another person's samples which showed no traces of alcohol.

Doctor’s idea to swap blood samples

The father of the minor involved in the Porsche crash case and Dr Ajay Taware of the Sassoon government hospital were constantly in touch after the accident in Kalyani Nagar, and it was the government doctor who first thought that the blood samples could be swapped, the police claimed on Tuesday (May 28).

Both the teenager's father, realtor Vishal Agarwal, and Dr Taware have been arrested in related cases following the accident of May 19.

Following the accident, more than a dozen calls were exchanged between Dr Taware and Vishal Agarwal, said a senior police official.

"Our focus is on two things: identifying whose blood samples were used to replace the juvenile's samples, and determining the financial gain received or promised to Dr Taware. It has come to light that Dr Halnor, the CMO at the casualty section, and the third accused, Ghatkamble, received a total of ₹3 lakh from Dr Taware to change the blood samples," stated another senior police officer.

It was to be probed whether Dr Taware gave them ₹3 lakh from his pocket or he had taken the money from someone else, the official said.

To change the blood samples was Dr Taware's idea, he claimed.

"It was unthinkable for everyone else that blood samples could be changed. It was Taware's idea. Their (Agarwal and Taware) attitude was that money can buy anything," the official said.

Police were going to invoke the Prevention of Corruption Act against the accused doctors, he added.

Probe panel visits Sassoon hospital

During the day, the three-member committee conducting inquiry into alleged manipulation of the blood samples visited the Sassoon hospital and also met police officials who are probing the case.

"We will examine the sequence of events after the accident. The probe will be conducted as per the rules, and a report will be submitted to the government," said Dr Pallavi Sapale, dean of the Grant Medical College and JJ group of hospitals who is heading the panel.

Sources said the committee members visited the casualty department and also understood the process of blood sample collection, its preservation and dispatch to the forensic science laboratory.

Juvenile’s father, grandfather remanded in police custody

Elsewhere, Judicial Magistrate First Class AA Pande remanded builder Vishal Agarwal, the teenager's father, in police custody till May 31 in a case where he and his father Surendra Agarwal are accused of putting pressure on the family's driver to take blame for the accident to shield the boy.

Surendra Agarwal, the minor's grandfather, was already arrested in this case for allegedly kidnapping the driver and putting him in illegal confinement. On Tuesday (May 28), Magistrate Pande extended his police custody till May 31.

Vishal Agarwal (50) was earlier arrested under the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly exposing the minor to danger by giving him a car.

MLA Tingre’s letter to minister in Dec 2023 surfaces

Following Dr Taware's arrest, a 2023 letter from local NCP MLA Sunil Tingre to Maharashtra medical education minister Hasan Mushrif, recommending that the doctor be given additional charge of medical superintendent, has surfaced.

In the letter dated December 26, 2023, Tingre said he knew Dr Taware who had worked as superintendent and discharged his duties well during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I request you to kindly consider giving the additional charge of medical superintendent to Taware," the letter stated.

The letter also had a handwritten note from Mushrif, directing the Sassoon hospital's dean to give the additional charge to Dr Taware. Mushrif's note mentioned that, according to rules, a person of professor rank should be considered for the position, and the (then) medical superintendent did not fulfil the criteria.

On Tuesday (May 28), Tingre in a statement said that as he is an MLA, many people approach him for recommendation letters, and such letters issued by him always include a note that action should be taken according to the rules.

MLA visited police station after May 19 accident

Questions were also raised after it emerged that Tingre had visited the Yerawada police station after the May 19 accident. Police admitted that he visited the station, but claimed it did not have any impact on the probe.

State Congress chief Nana Patole, meanwhile, alleged that the Sassoon hospital was a "five-star hotel for criminals," and the Central Bureau of Investigation must investigate the car crash case as there seemed to be political interference to save the "rich accused." The juvenile was accompanied by an MLA's son in the car, he further claimed.

Patole also demanded the resignation of deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who holds the Home portfolio.

(With agency inputs)