Pune car crash: Custody of juvenile's parents extended till 14 June

A Pune court on Monday extended till 14 June the police custody of the parents of a 17-year-old boy allegedly involved in the fatal Porsche car accident and another accused in a case pertaining to the destruction of evidence.

The police told the court there was a strong possibility the parents of the juvenile destroyed the original blood samples and, therefore, there was a need for their custodial interrogation.

The teen's father, realtor Vishal Agrawal, and mother Shivani were arrested in the case for their suspected role in swapping of blood samples of the juvenile, who was allegedly drunk at the time of the 19 May crash in Kalyani Nagar which claimed the lives of two motorbike-borne IT professionals.

Shivani Agarwal was arrested on 1 June after the revelation that the boy's blood samples were replaced with hers. Her husband Vishal Agrawal was arrested for allegedly being involved in the destruction of evidence.

Besides the Agrawal couple, one Ashpak Makandar, who acted as a middleman between them and doctors from state-run Sassoon Hospital, where blood samples were collected, were produced before the court on Monday.

While seeking an extension of custody of all three accused, including the parents, the prosecution told the court that there was a strong possibility the parents of the juvenile had destroyed the original blood samples of their son.

It told the court that middleman Makandar was paid Rs 4 lakh by the driver of the teenager's father. Of this, Rs 3 lakh was given further (to Sassoon doctors) for replacing the juvenile's blood samples.

"Rs 3 lakh has been recovered from Dr Srihari Halnor and Sassoon Hospital employee Atul Ghatkamble and we need to recover the remaining Rs 1 lakh," said the investigating officer.

It also said since all the accused are there, the prosecution wants to make them confront each other.

Investigations have revealed the blood samples of the juvenile were replaced with those of the mother at the Sassoon General Hospital on 19 May.

Two doctors and one staffer of Sassoon Hospital have already been arrested in the case and they are currently in judicial custody.

Defence lawyer Prashant Patil opposed the custody extension plea of the teen's parents, saying they have already spent several days in police remand and there was no need for their further custodial interrogation.

The minor boy is in an observation home.