In Pune Drink Driving Case, Police Custody For Minor's Father, Grandfather

The father and grandfather of the minor who mowed down two engineers in Pune last week, have been sent to police custody till May 31. The police had sought a week's time, underscoring the need for stringent questioning.

The boy had run over two persons while driving his father's Rs 2.5 crore Porsche in a "heavily drunk" state.  He was doing 250 kmph when he hit the bike carrying the two engineers from Madhya Pradesh, Both of them died on the spot.

A few months short of 18, the legal age for driving, he had initially got bail within 15 hours. He was asked to work with the traffic police of Yerawada for 15 days, and to undergo counselling -- a decision the Juvenile Justice Board reversed in face of massive public outrage.

Two police cases have been filed against his father  -- a real estate mogul -- for willful neglect of his underage son under the Juvenile Justice Act and one for bribery and evidence tampering. One case has been filed against the boy's grandfather.

In court today, appearing for the family, advocate Prashant Patil argued that the boy's grandfather is in ill health and there is no evidence at the house to tamper with. "All CCTV have been seized. There is nothing to search in the house. Already we have cooperated," he argued.

He also denied any wrongdoing in the second case -- filed after the family driver complained to the police that he had been offered a bribe by the boy's grandfather and asked to take the blame for the horrifying car crash.

"The driver came home with his wife and told the family that that there would be a mob lynching. He came to the family's house only to collect his bike and was there for 30 minutes," he said.

"It is an unfortunate incident. I took driver along with me, spoke to him for two minutes. After that, I told him to call his family and to go to the staff quarters for food. We are a reputed family, I am not able handle this pressure," the grandfather told the court.

The police say investigations have revealed layers of conspiracy, bribery and deceit to get the family off the hook -- among them bribing of doctors to tamper with the samples for the teen's blood alcohol test, and asking the driver to shoulder the blame.  There are questions whether the family also used political influence and underworld connections as well.