Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis have directed stringent action in the case of a car accident involving a 17-year-old boy, in which two persons were killed, the Pune police chief said on Tuesday.
The high-end Porsche car, allegedly driven by the juvenile, who the police claim was drunk at the time, knocked down two motorbike riders in the Kalyani Nagar area of Pune city in the early hours of Sunday,
The police have detained the boy's father, who is a real estate developer, and arrested three executives of two hotels for serving liquor to the juvenile, they said.
"The chief minister, deputy chief minister and home minister (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," Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told reporters.
He was addressing the public's concern that the police was not taking adequate action in the case.
Kumar affirmed that both the government and the police were committed to take stringent measures against those responsible.
Asked about any pressure on the police in this case, the official said that from the beginning, the police have been acting according to the law and there was no pressure from any quarter.
"I mentioned yesterday that we are ready to discuss every legal step taken by the police. We have taken the most stringent possible action. If legal experts believe there are more stringent provisions available, they should come forward for a public discussion," he said.
Kumar said on the first day itself, the police invoked IPC Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), in addition to section 304A (causing death by negligence).
"We also moved an application before a court seeking permission to treat the juvenile as an adult due to the heinous nature of the act. Unfortunately, the court rejected our application. We have now approached the district sessions court and are awaiting the judgment," he said.
Kumar said the blood report of the juvenile was still awaited. However, the CCTV footage of the restaurants and bill payments made there indicate that the juvenile had consumed alcohol, he said.
On the allegations of "preferential treatment" being given to the juvenile while in custody, Kumar said stringent action will be taken against the police personnel if they are found to be aiding the teenager directly or indirectly.
A group of friends were returning on motorbikes at around 3.15 am on Sunday after a party when the speeding Porsche hit one of the motorcycles at Kalyani Nagar junction killing two riders -- Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh -- the police said.
The accused teenager was subsequently produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which granted him bail hours later.
A case has been registered against the youngster under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder ) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, as per the police
The police had registered a case against the teenager's father, a real estate developer, under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and against the owners and staff members of the bar establishments for serving alcohol to an underage person.
The probe in these cases has been transferred to the crime branch, an official said earlier.
Section 75 deals with "willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses," while section 77 deals with supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs.
