A 17-year-old boy, driving a luxury vehicle -- Porsche Taycan -- without number plates, fatally knocked down two motorbike-borne IT professionals in Pune's Kalyaninagar on May 19.
The two deceased techies, both aged 24, were identified was Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.
The teenager, son of a 'renowned' real estate developer, a 50-year-old Vishal Agarwal, subsequently produced before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which granted him bail just 15 hours after his detention.
This invited backlash from several people across the nation including political leaders.
HERE'S A TIMELINE OF THE CASE:
MAY 19: A 17-year-old, allegedly in a drunk condition, killed two motorcycle-borne techies after he crashed into them with his luxury Porsche car in Pune's Kalyaninagar. The deceased were reportedly returning home after a party at a restaurant in the area.
The police registered an FIR against the minor under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304 A (causing death by negligence), 279 (rash driving) and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
May 20: The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) in Pune granted bail to the teenager, but on some conditions -- to work with Yerawada traffic police for 15 days, write an essay on accidents and undergo treatment to quit drinking and seek psychiatric counselling.
Notably, the police had argued for the driver to be tried as an adult, but the JJB did not accept the plea.
Meanwhile, a CCTV footage showing the underage driver seated with his friends around a table at a pub surfaced. Reportedly, he was enjoying alcoholic drinks with them to celebrate his Class 12 results.
The footage was said to be from Cosie bar, where the table was seen filled with several bottles of liquor.
Several opposition leaders, including Shiv Sen (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, alleged that the teenager was fed pizza, burger and biryani at the police station after being detained.
May 21: Pune Police arrested the 17-year-old's father, Vishal Agarwal, from Maharashtra's Aurangabad. Additionally it also took into custody the owner and the manager of the bar that allegedly served alcohol to the teen.
Agarwal is reportedly the owner of the construction company Brahma Realty and Infrastructure.
They were booked under Juvenile Justice Act Sections 75 and 77. These sections pertain to willful neglect of a child and providing intoxicating substances to a minor respectively.
The investigation into the crash case was transferred to the crime branch of the Pune Police.
Families of the two deceased techies termed the incident to be a "murder" and called the teen a "human bomb", asking for strict investigation into him and his parents.
Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis expressed shock over the JJB's decision to grant the boy bail after such a crash.
Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde ordered the Pune police to probe the Porsche crash case, instructing for stringent action in the matter.
"The chief minister, the deputy chief minister and home minister [Devendra Fadnavis], and the [Pune] guardian minister [Deputy CM Ajit Pawar] have given clear instructions to the police to take stringent action in this case. The state Director General of Police has also instructed for strong action," PTI quoted Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar as saying.
May 22: Another CCTV footage surfaced of the luxury electric vehicle, Porsche Taycan, moving in excessive speed across the roads moments before the accident that killed the two techies.
The car was reportedly being driven at a speed of 200 Kmph.
While the teen's father, Vishal Agarwal, was sent to police custody till May 24. The Juvenile Justice Board also summoned the 17-year-old boy to appear before it on Wednesday.
A juvenile court also ruled that the underage driver would be tried for drunk driving. He will be tried and sentenced under Section 185 of the Motor Vehicle Act. Punishments under this section include a fine of Rs 10,000 or imprisonment of upto 6 months or both.
Reports also said that the teen spent Rs 48,000 in 90 minutes at one of the two pubs that he visited before the tragic accident. A bill of Rs 48,000 was paid at Cosie, the first pub the teen and his friends went to at 10:40 pm on Saturday evening, Times of India reported citing Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar.
After Cosie stopped serving them, they all left for the second pub -- Blak Mariott -- at 12:10 am.
The state excise department sealed the two restaurants that allegedly served liquor to the teenager. It also started a special drive to ensure pubs and license holding restaurants don't serve liquor to underage patrons and operate beyond the deadline of 1:30 am.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said that the 17-year-old will be barred from getting a driving license till he turns 25.
Bhimanwar said that Porsche Taycan will also not be allowed to register at any RTO office for 12 months since its existing temporary registration will be cancelled as per the MV Act provisions.
The Pune police also approached the JJB with a plea to review the boy's bail order. It sought permission to allow them to treat the boy as an adult, saying the crime committed was "heinous".
The Juvenile Board, later on Wednesday, cancelled the bail of the 17-year-old after massive outcry over it previous decision. The board remanded the minor to the Children Observation Centre till June 5.
Several reports also revealed a significant development, indicating the accused' family having underworld connection. The grandfather of the underage driver, Surendra Kumar Agarwal, is reportedly undergoing trial in a shootout case for allegedly making payments to gangster Chhota Rajan.
WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW?
The 17-year-old boy has been shifted to an observation home following the Juvenile Board's order, an official from the facility said on Thursday.
Over 30 minors are currently lodged at the observation home, located at the same premises where the hearing on the police's review petition took place, the official added.
"The Child-in-Conflict with Law (CCL) was immediately sent to the Nehru Udyog Kendra observation home, located at Yerawada, where he is staying with the other CCLs," he added.
A senior police official also noted that the juvenile will have to undergo psychological assessments during his stay at the home.
Meanwhile, according to advocate Prashant Patil, representing the teenage boy, the process of deciding whether a juvenile should be treated as an adult accused can take at least two months. This is in view of the need of reports from psychiatrists and counsellors among others.
Patil also dismissed the police's statement that the bail was cancelled by JJB, saying that there was no cancellation of bail.
"It is a modification of the earlier order....Cancellation of bail means setting aside the earlier order and taking the person in custody. Here, it is not a custody. It is a rehab home," Patil told reporters.
"As per the operative order issued by the JJ Board, it has sent the minor to the observation home till June 5. The order on our plea to allow police to treat him as an adult (accused) has not been received yet," Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said.
Notably, founder of Community Against Drunken Driving (CADD), activist Prince Singhal, said on Wednesday that he wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to take cognisance of the accident case and direct for action against the guilty.
The mother of one of the late techies, Aneesh Awadhiya, told NDTV that the teen "killed" her son. "He killed my son. Now I will never be able to meet my son," she said. She said that it could also be called a "murder".
Savitha Awadhiya demanded the strictest punishment for the 17-year-old accused. She appealed to the Maharashtra government to help her get justice for her son.
(With PTI inputs)
