Pune teen's mother held for aiding blood swap

The mother of the minor in the Porsche car accident case was arrested after confirmation that his blood samples were replaced with hers, Pune police chief Amitesh Kumar said on Saturday.

As part of their probe, the police also spoke to the minor for about an hour at the observation home, where he has been sent till June 5, in his mother's presence. An official, however, said 'they were not forthcoming during the probe'.

The latest arrest comes two days after police told a local court that the blood samples of the 17-year-old juvenile had been replaced with that of a woman.

'During the investigation of other arrested accused, it was revealed that the blood samples of the juvenile were replaced with those of his mother,' the Pune police said in a release.

The Crime Branch had earlier arrested Dr Ajay Taware, head of the forensic medicine department of Sassoon General Hospital, its chief medical officer Dr Shrihari Halnor and hospital staffer Atul Ghatkamble for their alleged involvement in the blood sample swap episode.

Apart from these three, the police have arrested the juvenile's father Vishal Agarwal, mother and grandfather Surendra Agarwal under Indian Penal Code sections section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304 A (death by negligence), 201 (Causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 120 b (criminal conspiracy), 279 (Rash driving or riding on a public way), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life), 427 (Mischief causing damage), 466, 467 (Forgery) and 471 (Using as genuine a forged document).

The police has also invoked sections of the Prevention of Corruption (since some of the arrested accused are government servants) and Motor Vehicles Act.

A senior Crime Branch official said the initial probe into the blood sample swap included the location of the juvenile's mother, technical evidence, CCTV footage and statements of several persons.

It was Dr Taware who came up with the idea of the replacing the blood samples in order to destroy evidence of alcohol consumption by the juvenile, the official said.

The juvenile's father and mother conspired with Taware, Halnor and Ghatkamble to change the blood samples and it has been revealed that financial transactions took place between the accused for this, the police release stated.

"We will be collecting the blood samples of the juvenile's mother for DNA purposes as part of the probe into the sample swap. We are also probing if she had any role in the kidnapping of the driver (in order to force him to take blame for the May 19 crash). We have also taken custody of the juvenile's father. He and his wife will be produced in court on Sunday," the official said.

Police had, on Friday, moved an application for Vishal Agarwal's custody in connection with the alleged switching of the blood samples.

The official said the probe of the juvenile, who is in a observation home till June 5, was conducted in the presence of his mother.

"The probe was related to certain points related to the accident, including sequence of events, his presence at two restaurants and the blood sample episode at Sassoon General Hospital. They were not forthcoming during the probe," the official said.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Friday permitted the police to probe the teenager. Under the Juvenile Justice Act, the inquiry of a minor has to be conducted in the parents' presence.

Asked about the alleged involvement of an MLA in the case, the official, without giving a direct reply, said action will be taken as per evidence.

"Today, since the evidence against the juvenile's mother was strong, action (arrest) ensued. Our aim is to make the case watertight," the official asserted.

Two IT professionals were killed in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar in Pune after a Porsche allegedly being driven by the minor, who the police claim was drunk, rammed into their two-wheeler.

The minor's father, realtor Vishal Agarwal, and grandfather Surendra Agarwal have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping the family's driver and putting pressure on him to take the blame. They were remanded in judicial custody for 14 days on Friday after their police remand ended.

As per the police, about a dozen calls were exchanged between Vishal Agarwal and Dr Ajay Taware while samples were being collected for testing for alcohol consumption.

Dr Halnor and Ghatkamble received a total of Rs 3 lakh from Dr Taware to change the blood samples, a senior police officer had said earlier.

The case has caused national outrage, especially since the JJB granted bail to the teenager a few hours after the May 19 crash and asked him to write a 300-word essay on road safety.

Amid a nationwide outcry, police again approached the JJB, which modified the order and sent him to the observation home till June 5.

After bail was given to the juvenile by a single member of the JJ Board, the Maharashtra government set up a committee to probe the conduct of the state-appointed members of JJB and check if norms were followed while issuing orders in the Pune car crash case.

The committee, headed by a deputy commissioner, will submit its report by next week, Prashant Narnavare, commissioner of the Women and Child Department, had said earlier.