Pune Porsche crash victim's father says accused in such cases should be booked under murder charge

Jabalpur (MP): The father of the woman software engineer, who was killed in the Pune Porsche hit-and-run case, on Tuesday expressed disappointment over the apex court granting bail to three accused, and said those involved in such cases should be booked under the murder charge.

He also noted that had the incident occurred in Madhya Pradesh, the accused would have walked free long back.

The case relates to the incident on May 19, 2024, when a Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol fatally knocked down two IT professionals -- Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta -- in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area. Awadhiya was a resident of Birsinghpur Pali in Umaria district, while Koshta hailed from Jabalpur.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted bail to Amar Santish Gaikwad (alleged middleman), Aditya Avinash Sood and Ashish Satish Mittal (parents of two other juveniles in the car), while observing that parents are to be blamed for such incidents involving juveniles as they don't have control over their children.

Sood and Mittal are accused of conspiracy to replace the blood samples of their children.

Mittal is a friend of the main accused's father, while Sood is the father of the boy who was seated on the rear seat of the car. Gaikwad is a middleman who had allegedly taken Rs 3 lakh to "manipulate" the blood report.

Deceased woman engineer Koshta's father, Suresh Kumar Koshta, told PTI that he remained hopeful of getting justice as the Pune police commissioner had assured that the case would be taken to the logical end.

"Had this case occurred in Madhya Pradesh, the accused would have walked free by now," he said.

He added that the role played by the accused who were granted bail should also have been considered.

"Earlier, there was tampering with evidence and manipulation of the law. The high court had rejected their bail pleas. After getting bail, the accused will certainly try to defend themselves, and a person can go to any extent to save himself," he said.

Koshta said that more people die in road accidents than due to diseases in the country, making it necessary to amend the Motor Vehicles Act.

"People drive under the influence of alcohol and when someone loses life in such cases, a murder case should be registered against the accused," he said.

He also quoted Union minister Nitin Gadkari's reported statement that India's record on road accidents was so poor that he had to hide his face at global conferences.

Family members of Awadhiya also expressed disappointment over the Supreme Court's decision on Monday and demanded cancellation of bail granted to the three accused.

Awadhiya's grandfather Atmaram Awadhiya told PTI Videos that bail should not have been granted in such cases.

He alleged that since the main accused belonged to a wealthy family, attempts were made from the beginning to protect him through manipulation.

Claiming that blood samples were swapped and a conspiracy was hatched to "suppress" the case, he said, "It was such a big crime and now bail has been granted."

Awadhiya's father Omprakash Awadhiya told PTI Videos that the three accused who were granted bail had tampered with blood samples to shield the main accused.

"We want the bail to be cancelled so that we get justice," he said.

Investigation brought to light that the boy driving the car at the time of the accident was a minor. It was alleged that his blood samples were tampered with to avoid confirmation of alcohol consumption. The alleged role of some doctors and bribery charges had also surfaced in the case.

The SC, while granting bail to the three accused, noted that they had been in jail for 18 months.

Sood (52) and Mittal (37) were arrested on August 19 last year. Their blood samples were used for tests in connection with two minors who were in the car along with the 17-year-old main accused at the time of the accident.

The Bombay High Court on December 16 last year rejected the bail pleas of eight accused, including Gaikwad, Sood and Mittal, in the case.

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) had granted bail to the minor accused on lenient terms, sparking nationwide outrage. The bail conditions included writing a 300-word essay on road safety.

As bail to the accused juvenile triggered outrage, the Pune police approached the JJB to review its decision. The board then modified the order and sent the juvenile to an observation home. In June 2024, the high court ordered the release of the juvenile.

While the juvenile involved in the case was released from an observation home, 10 accused, including his parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal, doctors Ajay Tawre and Shreehari Halnor, Sassoon Hospital's staffer Atul Ghatkamble, Sood, Mittal and Arun Kumar Singh, and two middlemen, were sent to jail in the blood sample swapping case.