On Saturday, Pune Police arrested the grandfather of a 17-year-old boy, who allegedly hit his Porsche car and killed a teenager on May 19. According to the police, the grandfather tried to implicate the family’s driver in the accident.
He is a leading realtor of the city and was arrested for kidnapping and wrongful confinement as per the complaint filed by the driver. Pune City Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar disclosed that the driver was forced to accept the blame with a promise that he would be rewarded and threatened with dire consequences in the event that he declined.
Another FIR was registered at Yerawada police station on Saturday morning on charges of IPC Sections 342, 365, 506 and 34. As per the FIR registered, the 42-year-old driver stated that on the intervening night of May 19-20, the minor’s grandfather abducted him in a BMW, took him to the bungalow, threatened to kill him snatched his mobile phone, and kept him confined. The grandfather as well as the minor’s father threatened the driver to force him to admit to driving the Porsche at the time of the accident.
Commissioner Kumar elaborated, “He (the driver) was taken to the accused’s home… his cell phone was taken away and he was confined. He was pressured to give a statement as per the family’s wish. “ One day, when the driver did not return home, his wife confronted the accused and took him away. The driver later went to the Crime Branch and his allegations were found to be true.
Evidence Against the Grandfather
Senior Police Inspector Krantikumar Patil stated that despite the grandfather claiming he was in Delhi at the time of the accident, police found the driver’s clothes in the accused’s bungalow. The police argued that they needed to keep the grandfather in custody to retrieve the driver’s telephone and the car used in the alleged kidnapping. They also presented doctored CCTV footage from the accused’s house and highlighted the grandfather’s criminal history.
Defense lawyer Prashant Patil argued that the driver was not kidnapped and had walked to the servant quarters willingly. He made objections to the formality of custody claiming that the grandfather was already old and ailing. However, the court allowed the grandfather to be taken into police custody until May 28.
This FIR is the third one registered in connection with the May 19 violence. The minor was first charged for several offenses under the Indian Penal Code and the Motor Vehicle Act. A second FIR was registered against the minor’s father and several others for the charges of providing alcohol to the minor and giving him an unregistered car.
Alleged Underworld Connection
Investigations revealed that Surendra Kumar Agarwal, the grandfather involved in the Pune hit-and-run case with a Porsche, allegedly has connections to gangster Chhota Rajan. Authorities discovered that Agarwal hired a hitman from Chhota Rajan’s gang in 2009 to assassinate Shiv Sena corporator Ajay Bhosale. Media reports suggest that Agarwal’s connection to Chhota Rajan might be linked to a property dispute between him and Bhosale.
As the investigations go on, the police look for other charges; for instance, destruction of evidence against other people involved in the cover-up. The minor stays in an observation home until June 5.
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