The parents of the 17-year-old boy, involved in a Porsche crash in Pune, gave a bribe of Rs 3 lakh to swap his blood sample in order to hide that he was drunk-driving.
The police investigation has revealed. Notably, this bribe was paid on the premises of the Juvenile Justice Board, which later ordered the release of the boy.
In the early hours of May 19, two IT professionals hailing from Madhya Pradesh were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche driven by the boy, who was drunk.
The boy’s father, Vishal Agarwal, allegedly paid a bribe to Atul Ghatkamble, a ward boy at Sassoon Hospital in the premises of the Juvenile Justice Board, to swap the minor’s blood sample with his mother’s.
During investigation. the Pune Crime Branch seized the CCTV footage of the transaction that happened on the premises of JJB.
The bribe amount was accepted by Ghatkamble on the advice of Dr Ajay Taware, head of the hospital’s Forensic Medicine department, and Dr Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer of the state-run hospital.
The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report showed no alcohol in the first blood sample, which raised suspicions. Later, a second blood test was conducted at a different hospital and DNA tests confirmed the samples were from two different individuals.
The Pune Crime Branch has also arrested one Ashfaq Makandar in connection with the case.
Makandar and one Amar Gaikwad worked as the middleman between the accused doctors and Vishal Agarwal, the crime branch said.
On May 20, Makandar also received a call, before he reached the Sassoon Hospital, in which the caller reportedly told him to “help Vishal Agarwal”.
Later, a phone call was made between Makandar and Dr Taware.
The crime sleuths are also investigating on whose instructions Makandar reached the Sassoon Hospital on May 20 and the details of the caller who asked Makandar to “help Vishal Agarwal”.
The police have seized Makandar’s mobile phone for investigation. Interestingly, he was also present with MLA Sunil Tingre at the Yeravada Police Station on May 19, when the accident happened.