Lending credence to allegations of political meddling, the dean of Pune’s Sassoon Hospital has said that one of the doctors accused of replacing the blood samples of the teenager behind the Porsche accident had been made the head of the forensic department at the insistence of a state minister and an MLA.
The legislator, Sunil Tingre, was also accused of visiting the Yerwada police station after the crash – in which two IT professionals were killed – and pressuring officials to go easy on the case.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, the hospital’s dean, Vinayak Kale, said Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif and Mr Tingre had written a letter and asked for Dr Ajay Tawade to be made the head of Sassoon Hospital’s Forensic Medicine Department. Both Mr Mushrif and the MLA are from the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party, which is in power in Maharashtra in an alliance with the BJP and the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena.
Mr Tawade and Dr Shrihari Harnor, the Chief Medical Officer of Sassoon Hospital, had been arrested on Monday by the Pune Crime Branch for allegedly helping replace the teenager’s blood samples with those of a doctor to ensure that no alcohol was detected in them. A peon, Atul Ghatkamble, who acted as the middleman and allegedly collected the Rs 3 lakh bribe meant for the two doctors from the realtor’s family, was also taken into custody.
Mr Kale said Dr Tawade and Mr Ghatkamble have been suspended while the contract of Dr Harnor has been terminated.
“The committee formed for the investigation at the state level conducted the probe for the whole day yesterday (Tuesday). I have taken action at my level,” he said.
The committee, set up by the Maharashtra Government to probe the alleged manipulation of the blood sample, is chaired by Dr Pallavi Sapale, the dean of Grant Medical College and JJ group of hospitals.
Congress’s Allegations
The Congress’ Maharashtra President, Nana Patole, had alleged on Tuesday that an MLA’s son was involved in the accident and the legislator was in touch with the police after the crash and had also spoken to the doctors and asked them to change the blood samples.
Mr Patole had claimed that there is a nexus between the police, politicians and the rich and influential people in the state.
It has also come to light that the father of the teenager, who is a prominent builder in Pune, had communicated with Dr Tawade at least 14 times on May 19. The exchanges included WhatsApp, FaceTime, and regular calls.
‘No One Will Be Spared’
Breaking his silence on the accident, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said on Tuesday that he has been in touch with the Pune police commissioner since day one and that the law is equal for all.
“I have been in touch with the Pune police commissioner since day one. I have said right from the beginning that, irrespective of how influential the person is, there should be no discrimination. No matter how rich or poor a person is, the law is equal for all and no one will be spared. I have ordered strict action,” he had said.
The Accident
The crash had taken place around 2.15 am on May 19, when the 17-year-old, who had been drinking with his friends in two pubs in Pune to celebrate his Class 12 results, knocked down the two 24-year-old IT professionals in the Kalyani Nagar area. He was driving a Rs 2.5-crore Porsche at over 150 kmph.
Aneesh Awadhiya, who was riding the bike, was sent flying and hit a parked car, while Ashwini Koshta – who was riding pillion – was flung 20 feet into the air. Both of them died on the spot.
At 17 years and 8 months old, the teenager was four months short of the legal age for driving and more than seven years shy of Maharashtra’s legal age for drinking. He has been sent to a remand home till June 5 while his father is in police custody.
