Pune Porsche crash: ‘Teen’s blood sample was discarded, switched’; 2 doctors held

Pune Police have arrested two doctors of the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune for alleged manipulation of blood samples and destruction of evidence in the case of a car accident involving a 17-year-old boy, officials said on Monday (May 27).

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said that during medical examination, the teen’s blood samples were thrown into a dustbin and replaced with another person’s samples at the behest of a doctor at the hospital.

The arrested persons have been identified as Dr Ajay Taware, head of the forensics department, and Shrihari Harnor, chief medical officer at Sassoon Hospital, police said.

Two IT professionals died after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche allegedly driven by the minor in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar area of Maharashtra's Pune city. The police claim the teenager was drunk at the time of the accident.

Teen’s father offered allurement to doctor: Police

"It has been revealed in the investigation that the blood samples of the juvenile were replaced with some other person's samples and this was done on the direction of Dr Taware," Kumar claimed.

On the instructions of Dr Taware, the juvenile's blood samples were thrown into a dustbin and replaced with the blood samples of another person, he said.

"The investigation also revealed that it was the juvenile's father who had called Dr Ajay Taware and offered him allurements to replace the blood samples," Kumar claimed.

Second sample

The senior police official further said that as an abundant precaution, they had taken one more sample of the juvenile for DNA sampling and it was sent to another hospital.

"The report of the other hospital revealed the juvenile's blood report at the Sassoon Hospital was manipulated as the DNA of (blood samples of) both the reports did not match," he said.

Both the doctors did not have any idea that the police would take one more sample (of the accused juvenile), he said.

"A probe is underway on whose blood samples were collected to replace with that of the juvenile's. We have recovered CCTV footages of the Sassoon Hospital and further probe is on," Kumar said.

Teen’s father named as co-accused

He also said that Indian Penal sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and other relevant sections have been added to the case in which the juvenile has been booked.

"We have made the juvenile's father co-accused in the present case," he said.

The teenager was initially granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board, which also asked him to write an essay on road accidents, but following outrage over the lenient treatment and a review application by the police, he was sent to an observation home till June 5.

Juvenile’s father, grandfather arrested

The police have arrested the teenager's father, who is a realtor, and his grandfather in connection with the accident.

The police claim that both of them were applying pressure on the family’s driver to take the blame for the accident by offering him money and also threatening him.

“The Agarwal family offered to pay the driver any amount he quoted,” said the police commissioner. “He was summoned, and his statement was recorded on Thursday (May 23). After corroboration of facts, an offence was registered against the juvenile’s father and grandfather.”

Both of them have been booked under IPC sections 365 (kidnapping) and 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement).

(With inputs from agencies)