Police in Pune have obtained new CCTV footage related to the Porsche crash accident involving a 17-year-old boy accused of crashing the luxury car into a motorcycle, resulting in the deaths of two software engineers last month.
The footage, from the Yerwada area, allegedly shows an employee of Sassoon General Hospital receiving a bribe as part of a scheme to swap the juvenile driver’s blood samples. Ashpak Makandar, acting as a middleman, reportedly handed ₹3 lakh to hospital employee Atul Ghatkamble at the Juvenile Justice Board premises.
Ghatkamble, along with the hospital’s suspended forensics department head Dr. Ajay Taware and former casualty medical officer Dr. Shrihari Halnor, has been arrested for allegedly tampering with the minor’s blood samples.
Initially taken at Sassoon General Hospital hours after the incident on May 19, suspicions arose prompting a second sample collection at Aundh Government Hospital. A third sample from the juvenile’s father was subsequently tested, revealing manipulation in the initial sample.
The parents of the accused of the Porsche crash have also been arrested in connection with the alleged blood sample tampering. The incident occurred in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area during which the minor, driving at 160 kmph, collided with a motorcycle, killing Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa.
It was revealed through CCTV footage that the teenager, son of builder Vishal Agrawal, had hosted a party celebrating his Class 12 results the previous night, involving alcohol consumption and late-night driving.
Three separate cases have been registered: one for the accident, another against a pub accused of serving alcohol to the minor, and a third implicating the accused’s father for allowing him to drive without a valid license.
Additionally, a case of wrongful confinement and coercion involving the family driver taking responsibility for the accident has led to the arrest of the accused’s grandfather.
The Juvenile Justice Board has extended the observation home remand of the accused until June 25 to facilitate ongoing investigations, citing concerns that his release could disrupt proceedings.
