In a significant development in the Pune Porsche accident case, the police have arrested a peon from Sassoon General Hospital for allegedly collecting a ₹3 lakh bribe intended for two senior doctors who manipulated the blood samples of the juvenile driver involved in the crash. On Monday, Pune Police’s Crime Branch recovered the ₹3 lakh in cash.
Earlier, the two doctors, Dr. Ajay Taware, head of the forensic medicine department, and Dr. Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer, were arrested for allegedly replacing the blood samples of the accused teen driver with another person’s samples that showed no traces of alcohol. The hospital peon, Atul Ghatkamble, who works under Dr. Taware, was also arrested. All three have been remanded in police custody until May 30.
The incident in question occurred in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, when a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old under the influence of alcohol, collided with a motorcycle, killing two young IT professionals.
The Pune Police Commissioner, Amitesh Kumar, revealed at a press conference that financial transactions in the form of ‘kickbacks’ were suspected in the manipulation of the blood samples. The juvenile’s father, Vishal Agarwal, a realtor, reportedly called one of the doctors to request the sample switch. Police believe the original blood samples were discarded and replaced with another person’s samples.
The court of judicial magistrate first class (small causes) AA Pande remanded Dr. Ajay Taware, Dr. Shrihari Halnor, and Atul Ghatkamble in police custody until May 30, though the prosecution had requested a 10-day custody period. The prosecution stated that further investigation was needed to uncover who else was involved in the sample manipulation.
Additional charges under sections 201, 120-B, 467, 213, and 214 of the Indian Penal Code have been added to the original offense registered against the juvenile in the Porsche crash case.
In a related development, a court has allowed police to take custody of Vishal Agarwal from Yerwada Central Jail in connection with a case of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of his driver. Meanwhile, representatives from Porsche visited the Yerwada police station on Monday to conduct a technical inspection of the luxury car involved in the crash.
Commissioner Amitesh Kumar noted that the manipulation of the blood samples was uncovered after a separate DNA sample of the juvenile was sent to another hospital. The police are now reviewing CCTV footage from Sassoon General Hospital to identify individuals who visited the accused doctors.
Previously, the teenager involved in the crash was granted bail by the juvenile justice board and asked to write a 300-word essay on road accidents. However, following public outrage and a review application by the police, he was sent to an observation home until June 5. Initial reports claimed that the teen tested negative for alcohol, but CCTV footage from a bar he visited that night purportedly showed him drinking with friends.