Pune car crash: Teen's father, grandfather granted bail in case of confinement of family driver

Last month, the court granted bail to Vishal Agarwal, in a case pertaining to the Juvenile Justice Act and Motor Vehicles Act for 'failing to do his duty as a guardian' by allowing his son to drive after drinking.

Mumbai: A Pune court on Tuesday granted bail to the father and grandfather of the juvenile involved in the Porsche drunken driving and hit-and-run case, involving the kidnapping and wrongful confinement of their family driver.

Pune City’s Judicial Magistrate (First Class) granted bail to the boy’s father Vishal Agarwal and grandfather Surendra Agarwal.

It may be mentioned, on June 25, the Bombay High Court had ordered the release of the 17-year-old boy - a CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) - after holding that the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) order was illegal and that it was without jurisdiction to send him to an observation home after being granted bail. 

The Pune police had arrested his mother Shivani Agarwal, father Vishal Agarwal and grandfather Surendra Agarwal in different cases.

The case, in which they got bail on Tuesday, pertains to the alleged kidnapping and wrongful confinement of their family driver after the fatal accident of May 19 - when they forced the family driver, who is now a witness, to accept the responsibility of the car crash. 

"My clients will cooperate with the investigative agency and shall abide by stringent (bail) conditions of the court,” Agarwal family’s lawyer Prashant Patil said. 

Last month, a court granted bail to Vishal Agarwal, in a case pertaining to the Juvenile Justice Act and Motor Vehicles Act for "failing to do his duty as a guardian" by allowing his son to drive after drinking.

Meanwhile, the Pune police are planning to approach the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court order of releasing the 17-year-old boy.

On May 19, 2024, at around 0230 hrs, the minor boy, after visiting two pubs in the upscale Koregaon Park area, drove a high-end Porsche Taycan at a speed of over 200 kmph and hit a motorcycle along the Landmark Society on Kalyani Nagar-Airport Road in Pune. The accident killed Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both aged 24, working in Johnson Controls as data analysts, who were returning after partying.