Porsche Crash Case: Prosecution Submits Draft Charges Against 7 Accused

The prosecution in the Porsche car crash case on Friday submitted proposed draft charges against seven accused, including the parents of the juvenile as well as two doctors from the state-run Sassoon General Hospital, said special public prosecutor Shishir Hiray.

The draft charges were presented before Additional Sessions Judge UM Mudholkar, he added.

Two IT professionals were killed in the early hours of May 19 in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy in an inebriated condition.

The draft charges include allegations against the juvenile's parents, Sassoon General Hospital's Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shreehari Halnor, staffer at the hospital Atul Ghatkamble, as well as middlemen Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, said SPP Hiray.

Taware, Halnor and Ghatkamble are accused of playing a role in swapping the blood samples of the juvenile with that of his mother so as to nullify tests to detect alcohol. Apart from the juvenile's samples, the blood samples of two other minor friends in the car were also reportedly swapped at Sassoon Hospital to prevent the detection of alcohol in their blood.

Middlemen Makandar and Gaikwad are accused of facilitating financial transactions in the alleged swapping of the juvenile's blood samples, as per police.

The seven accused are charged with collusion in swapping the juvenile's blood samples and face charges under Indian Penal Code section 120B (criminal conspiracy) and sections related to forgery as well as provision of Prevention of Corruption Act, said advocate Sarathi Pansare, an associate of Hiray.

Sarathi Pansare further said the prosecution submitted an application seeking permission to obtain the phone unlock patterns for Halnor and Ghatkamble, as their devices are encrypted and the forensic department has been unable to access data.

Accessing their phone data is crucial, Sarathi Pansare said.

The prosecution also submitted an application urging the court to declare as proclaimed offender Arun Kumar Singh, the father of one of the minor friends of the juvenile present at the time of the accident, he said.

The anticipatory bail of Singh, who allegedly asked his friend Ashish Mittal to swap his blood samples with those of his son, was recently rejected by the Bombay High Court. Singh is on the run in the case.

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