Pune:
A 17-year-old boy was engaged in a deadly car accident, prompting the arrest of his father by the Pune Police in Aurangabad, Maharashtra. Additionally, the owners of the pubs that provided alcohol to minors have been jailed. The accident occurred early Sunday morning in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, when the boy’s Porsche crashed with a motorcycle, killing IT engineers Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta instantaneously. CCTV footage showed the automobile going at an estimated 200 km/h in a small lane.
The case has been handed to the Pune Police’s Crime Branch. The boy’s father is facing charges under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act for deliberate neglect of a child and furnishing intoxicating substances to a minor, respectively, while awaiting a decision from the sessions court.
The accident occurred about 2:15 a.m., while Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta were returning from a party. The child had been celebrating his class 12 results at a local pub, where he was seen drinking alcohol prior to the incident. Given that Maharashtra’s legal drinking age is 25, it was illegal for the restaurant to provide him alcohol. As a result, the bar owners face penalties for supplying alcohol to minors. The event has sparked public outcry, especially since the Juvenile Justice Board granted the kid bail only 15 hours after his incarceration, setting rehabilitative conditions such as required counseling, a de-addiction program, and a 300-word essay on road safety. Given the gravity of the disaster, this moderate response has been severely condemned.
In response to the bail judgment, the Pune police have petitioned the sessions court to try the juvenile as an adult, stating that the seriousness of the crime requires more stringent judicial scrutiny. Commissioner Amitesh Kumar stressed the gravity of the situation, noting that they have cited section 304 of the IPC, a non-bailable section, due to the terrible nature of the act. Legal action has also been begun against the tavern that supplied the minor drink, with the proprietors being held accountable for their role in the events preceding up to the catastrophe.
