MUMBAI: The Sunday incident of a super-luxury car being driven full throttle at 150km/hr by a drunk teenager running two youths over in Pune has drawn flak from politicians and others, especially after the juvenile was given bail 15 hours after the incident.
Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who is also the state home minister, has promised strict action against the guilty. He said though the accused is a minor, he can be punished by taking help from the Nirbhaya rape-murder case where youths aged above 16 years were treated as adults and given harsh punishment.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi released a video and demanded strict action. He asked why there should be two laws, one for the poor and the other for the rich.
After an uproar, the state police on Tuesday arrested Pune-based builder Vishal Agarwal from Sambhaji Nagar for the acts of his 17-year-old son Vishal who was at the wheel of his Porsche under the influence. The unnumbered car hit two bike-borne youths, both IT engineers from MP, killing them. After the video of the hit & run went viral, the Pune police registered an FIR against accused Vishal Agarwal.
Vishal was charged under IPC section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
However, 15 hours after the detention, a Pune court granted bail to the accused, treating him as a juvenile. It was also alleged that DCM Ajit Pawar led NCP’s local MLA Sunil Tingare rushed to the spot to help Agarwal and forced the police to dilute the punitive action.
The police initially denied the accused was under the influence of alcohol. However, the police admitted their mistake after a video surfaced where the juvenile was seen in a pub having liquor. Pune CP Amitesh Kumar said that there were five accused mentioned in the FIR, out of which 3 were arrested late last night.
“We will present them in court. The father of the accused has also been taken into custody,” Kumar said.
