Pune Porsche Accident: Teen's family offered money, forced driver to take blame of the crash, says Police

The family of the 17-year-old boy, who accidentally killed two techies in Pune by crashing his Porsche into their motorcycle, pressured the driver to take responsibility, the police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, who is the investigating the whole incident said on Saturday.

He mentioned that the family detained the man, intimidated him, and even offered him a bribe to shield the teenager from legal consequences.

The police officer further revealed that initially, the driver provided a written statement claiming he was driving the car during the accident. However, after investigation, they found that it was actually the teenager who was behind the wheel.

"The family threatened the driver to take the blame. The driver was kept confined. The driver wasn't behind the wheel. Family (of the accused minor) tried to bribe the driver," the officer added.

Earlier this week, the police informed the court that the driver had declined to allow the boy to drive the car and contacted the boy's father to report his behavior. However, the boy's affluent realtor father instructed the driver to let the teenager drive.

On Saturday morning, the Pune Police Crime Branch arrested the minor's grandfather for reportedly detaining the driver. He faces separate charges under IPC sections 365 and 368.

The driver, Gangadhar, filed a complaint with the police, stating that he was forcibly taken to Surendra Agarwal's (the grandfather's) residence on the night of May 19 after leaving the police station. They took away his phone and kept him confined in their bungalow.

The boy was initially granted bail on the condition that he would write an essay on road safety. However, following widespread outrage across the country, his bail was revoked, and he was sent to a reform home.

Allegations have been made against the police for giving the boy preferential treatment. A senior official is investigating the accusation, and two police personnel have been suspended in connection with the case.

Kumar mentioned on Friday that the police have CCTV footage of the teenager drinking in a pub before the accident.

“The in-charge PI and one other officer have been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings have been initiated for primary lapses in the overall conduct of this preliminary initial phase of the investigation,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, the police have charged a social media influencer for creating a fake video in which the teenager was seen boasting about the car crash.