The 17-year-old who rammed his father's high-end Porsche into a motorcycle, killing two techies in their 20s, had the knowledge that his act could cause death and the Indian Penal Code section against him will be applied accordingly, the chief of the Pune Police has told NDTV.
The other two occupants of the car, who are friends of the accused, are being treated as witnesses for now, and the police are trying to build a watertight case, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said on Tuesday.
The accident took place in the early hours of Sunday, 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 IT professionals in the Kalyani Nagar area. Aneesh Awadhiya (24), who was riding the bike was sent flying and hit a parked car, while Ashwini Koshta (25) - who was riding pillion - was flung 20 feet into the air. Both of them died on the spot.
Mr Kumar said the teenager, who is the son of a prominent Pune builder, was taken for a medical test in the early hours on Sunday and his blood has been taken and sent for a forensic report.
"Here, we are not applying a case of 304(a) of the Indian Penal Code of drunken driving and a rash and negligent act. We are applying Section 304, where we are saying that he had the knowledge that his rash act - where he was driving a Porsche without a number plate at a rash speed on a narrow street after consuming alcohol - could cause or was likely to cause death," the police commissioner said.
Emphasising that he does not think the report on the test for alcohol in the teenager's blood would come back negative, Mr Kumar said that, irrespective of what the report finally said, the police are trying to prove a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder where there is a knowledge that the act could cause death.
'Addicted To Alcohol'
Referring to the bail order passed by the Juvenile Justice board on Sunday, the city police chief asserted, "The accused has taken a plea that he is addicted to alcohol. So he is trying to say he is an alcohol addict. 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 the police are very optimistic that they will have the teen remanded until their application for trying him as an adult is decided.
On the role of the teen's father, the police chief said a case against him under Sections 75 (wilful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses) and 77 (supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs) of the Juvenile Justice Act was registered on Sunday itself.
"This is probably the first or one of the very few instances where a separate offence has been registered under the two sections of the Juvenile Justice Act. We have charges against the father that he, knowing that his son was juvenile, handed him a Porsche car without a number plate and provided him money and all the resources and facilitated him to go to a pub and party," Mr Kumar said.
Action has also been taken against the pub owners and five accused have been arrested, including the father, who will be produced before the court on Wednesday.
"The other two minors in the car are being treated as witnesses for the time being. We are examining all the details and, at this moment, they are witnesses for us," said Mr Kumar, adding that the Pune Police took the most stringent path possible in the first 24 hours after the accident.
Technical, Corroborative Evidence
Mr Kumar also refuted the argument of the teenager's lawyer that his being behind the wheel is just an allegation and needs to be investigated.
"We are making out a watertight case. We have technical evidence coupled with corroborative evidence to make a watertight case to have this accused punished under the relevant sections of the law," he stressed.
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