The father of the 17-year-old Pune teen – who killed two people after illegally consuming alcohol and then driving his dad’s Rs 2.5 crore Porsche sports car sans a license of any sort – has been sent to jail.
The father will be in jail till June 7, and this means he can now apply for bail.
The father’s jail term ends two days after the end of the remand period of his son; the boy got bail within 15 hours – on terms as ridiculous as a 300-word essay on road safety – but the Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday changed its order after outrage, and sent him to a remand home till June 5
The court was told police need extended access as the father has not co-operated with the inquiry.
The cops also said they need to question him about visitor logs from his home and, crucially, on the potential destruction of evidence – it appears CCTV footage from the boy’s house has been tampered
In addition, the father’s original mobile phone – left at home to avoid being tracked when he went on the run after the incident – is now with the police and will be examined by an expert. The cops said they need continued access to the father so they can confront him with the contents of the phone.
And, finally, the cops said they need custody of the father to answer questions about the Rs 48,000 his son and the boy’s friends reportedly spent at the Cosie Bar in the hours before the incident.
The bill and other details have not yet been furnished by the establishment, the cops said.
In response the father’s lawyer – who told NDTV the cops had no proof his client had prior knowledge of his son’s activities or intentions, which is a critical link – insisted the cops had no case.
He also hit out at media coverage of this case and said it could only be detrimental for his client.
A prominent city builder, the father had been charged with wilful neglect of his son under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice, which carries a maximum jail term of three years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
In today’s hearing the father – arrested 24 hours after the horrific incident, while trying to escape from the cops – was also charged with cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.
Under this law the father faces a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine.
The charge relates to an unpaid amount of Rs 1,758 as registration for the Porsche his son was driving when he rammed into the two-wheeler carrying Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta.
The Porsche was bought in the name of Brahma Ledgers but never registered, the cops said.
