A Pune court has extended the police custody of the parents of a 17-year-old boy allegedly involved in a fatal Porsche car accident, and another accused in a case pertaining to destruction of evidence, until June 14, 2024.
The police informed the court that there is a strong possibility the parents of the juvenile destroyed the original blood samples, necessitating their custodial interrogation.
Accused of…
The teen’s father, realtor Vishal Agrawal, and mother Shivani were arrested for their suspected role in swapping the blood samples of the juvenile, who was allegedly drunk during the May 19 crash in Kalyani Nagar, which claimed the lives of two motorbike-borne IT professionals. Shivani Agrawal was arrested on June 1 after it was revealed that the boy’s blood samples were replaced with hers. Vishal Agrawal was arrested for allegedly being involved in the destruction of evidence.
Alongside the Agrawal couple, one Ashpak Makandar, who acted as a middleman between them and doctors from the state-run Sassoon Hospital, where blood samples were collected, was produced before the court on June 10, 2024.
While seeking an extension of custody for all three accused, the prosecution told the court that there is a strong possibility the juvenile’s parents destroyed the original blood samples. The court was informed that middleman Makandar was paid Rs 4 lakh by the teenager’s father’s driver. Of this amount, Rs 3 lakh was given to Sassoon doctors for replacing the juvenile’s blood samples.
“Rs 3 lakh has been recovered from Dr. Srihari Halnor and Sassoon Hospital employee Atul Ghatkamble, and we need to recover the remaining Rs 1 lakh,” stated the investigating officer. The prosecution also stated that it wants to confront all the accused with each other.
Other Co-Accused
Investigations have revealed that the blood samples of the juvenile were replaced with those of the mother at Sassoon General Hospital on May 19. Two doctors and one staffer from Sassoon Hospital have already been arrested in the case and are currently in judicial custody.
Defence lawyer Prashant Patil opposed the custody extension plea of the teen’s parents, arguing that they have already spent several days in police remand and further custodial interrogation is unnecessary. The minor boy is in an observation home.
