Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi on Pune Porsche accident: 'If a 16-17 year old son of a rich family...'

Rahul Gandhi, Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Rae Bareli and Wayanad, on Tuesday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Pune Porsche accident which killed two techies.

In his video statement posted on X, Gandhi slammed Prime Minister Modi for "creating" two Indias where justice is "dependent on wealth." He further said that if a bus driver, truck driver, Ola or Uber driver kills somebody by mistake, they are jailed for a period of 10 years and the key of their car is thrown away.

The Gandhi scion also questioned the Prime Minister over the bail conditions for the accused in the Pune Porsche accident. 

"But if a 16-17 year old son of a rich family drives a Porsche car after getting drunk and kills two people, he is told to write an essay. Why don't you ask the bus driver or truck driver to write an essay. Why don't they ask the Uber or auto driver to write it," Gandhi asked. 

He further jabbed the Prime Minister over a recent interview wherein the latter replied to question on the divide between rich billionaires and the poor of the country. The Gandhi scion further said that it is a question of justice. 

"The question is not this, but of justice. Both the rich and the poor should get justice. Justice should be the same for everyone. That is why we are fighting against injustice," he said in his video message. 

Pune Porsche accident: Accused granted bail in 15 hours

The minor, belonging to a business family in Pune, involved in the accident was granted bail within 15 hours. The minor was granted bail under the conditions that he would write an essay on road accidents and work with the Yerwada traffic police for 15 days. 

The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) asked the minor to write a 300-word essay on the topic "effect of road accidents and the solution", study traffic rules, give a presentation on the same and assist accident victims in the future, if he witnesses one. Besides this, the minor was also asked to get medical treatment from a doctor so that he could quit drinking and seek psychiatric counselling. 

Devendra Fadnavis slams bail granted to accused

Addressing the media after a meeting with police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and other officials, Devendra Fadnavis said that the police have approached the higher court seeking permission to try the minor, who was granted bail within 15 hours, as an adult. 

"The order passed by the JJ Board was shocking and surprising as it had taken a very lenient view of such a heinous crime. The Pune police had petitioned the board to allow them to treat the teenager as an adult as his age is 17 years and eight months. But the board kept the application aside by categorising it as 'seen and filed' and released him on bail which led to public outrage," he said. 

Pune accident accused barred from getting drivers; license 

Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Transport Commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar said that the 17-year-old boy, who killed two motorcycle-borne IT professionals with his Porsche car in Pune, will be barred from getting a driving license till he reaches 25 years of age.

The state transport officials also claimed that the permanent registration of the Porsche involved in the accident has been pending since March as the owner did not pay a fee of Rs 1,758. This fee included Rs 1,500 hypothecation fees, Rs 200 smart card RC fees and Rs 58 postal charges. 

Police action in Porsche accident case so far

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis have instructed the authorities to take strict action against the accused in the case.

The police has detained the minor's father Vishal Agarwal, a real estate developer, and arrested three executives of the two hotels for serving liquor to the accused, news agency PTI reported citing officials. Agarwal is facing charges under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act for allegedly allowing his minor son to drive and consume alcohol. 

Parents of the deceased demand justice

The two deceased-- Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta both 24-year-old IT professionals-- died on Sunday after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car in Pune. Both the IT professionals belonged to Madhya Pradesh.

While Ashwini died on the spot, Anish succumbed to his injuries shortly after being admitted to a hospital. The parents of the two deceased sought stringent punishment for the accused boy and his parents, accusing them of being responsible for the death of their children.