The 17-year-old boy who was driving the speeding Porsche that hit a bike in Pune on Saturday night, killing two techies in their 20s, was out on bail 15 hours after he was arrested.
The quick bail in a case where two people have died has triggered a huge outrage, with the police saying that efforts are on to try the teen as an adult.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar told NDTV that the police are trying to prove a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder where there is knowledge that the act could cause death.
Referring to the bail order passed by the Juvenile Justice board on Sunday, Mr Kumar said that the accused in his plea mentioned that he is an alcohol addict to prove that he was not in his senses when the accident occurred.
“The accused has mentioned in his plea that he is addicted to alcohol. Irrespective of the blood report, we are trying to prove that he was fully in his senses to know that this rash act of his is likely to cause death,” Mr Kumar said.
He said that the police have contended before the court that the teen had consumed alcohol being a minor, but was in his senses to realise that his rash driving after alcohol consumption could cause death.
The Pune police Chief said that the police wants the teen to be sent to a remand home, till the court decides on their plea to prosecute him as an adult.
The teen who was at the wheel, son of a prominent realtor from the city, is just four months short of 18 years — the minimum age required to legally drive a car.
The minor was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board on conditions — he has to work with traffic police in Yerwada for 15 days, write an essay on accidents, undergo treatment for his drinking habit and take counselling sessions.
His blood report is yet to be received but preliminary probe showed that the juvenile was drunk at the time of the accident, Mr Kumar said.
“The CCTV footage of the bar clearly shows that the juvenile was consuming alcohol. There is no doubt that the juvenile was driving the car after consuming alcohol. We will be submitting all these facts to the court,” he said.
The teen’s father has been arrested. Additionally, the owners of a couple of bars where the minor was served alcohol have also been arrested.
The accident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area.
The Porsche, which eyewitnesses have said was driving at over 200 km per hour and had no number plates, hit the bike. Ashwini was thrown about 20 feet in the air and landed hard, said an eyewitness. Aneesh was thrown at a parked car and suffered serious injuries. Both died on the spot.
