Two doctors of a hospital in Pune were arrested on Monday for allegedly throwing away the blood sample of the teen driver in the Porsche car accident case.
Pune Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar said the doctors in Sassoon General Hospital had collected the blood sample of the teen driver, and switched it with those of another person who had not consumed alcohol, before discarding it in a dustbin.
“Dr Ajay Taware, head of the forensics department, and Dr Shrihari Harnor, chief medical officer at the hospital, have been arrested for alleged manipulation in blood reports and tampering with evidence,” he said at a press conference.
“We will produce them in court and request for police custody remand,” he added.
“IPC sections 120 (B), 467, 201, 213 and 214 destruction of evidence have been added to this matter. We received the forensic report on Sunday and it has been revealed that the sample collected at Sassoon Hospital, which the doctor there sealed and wrote the name of the juvenile accused before sending it to the forensics, was not the sample of the juvenile,” the senior officer said.
The case is currently being probed by the crime branch.
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.
Meanwhile, a team of representatives from Porsche reached the Yerwada police station on Monday to conduct a technical inspection of the luxury car.
The Porsche Taycan was allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk at the time of the accident, in which two IT professionals were killed in Kalyani Nagar area on May 19.
Earlier, Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said the car was imported in March by a dealer in Bengaluru and from there it was sent to Maharashtra on a temporary registration.
The police have also arrested the teenager’s father, who is a realtor, and his grandfather in connection with the accident.
CCTV footage purportedly showed the juvenile and his friends consuming liquor in two bars and also the speeding Porsche ramming into the victims — Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.
There were also allegations that the juvenile had been given special treatment at the Yerwada police station, such as being served pizza sent by his family.
Sunil Tingre, MLA of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, also visited the police station late at night, triggering speculation about political interference to shield the accused.