The Pune Police has arrested two doctors of the Sassoon General Hospital for allegedly manipulating the blood sample of the 17-year-old boy who killed two persons, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, when his car crashed into their motorbike, PTI reported on Monday.
The police also arrested a medical staffer who allegedly took a bribe of Rs 3 lakh from the teenager’s father and passed it on to one of the doctors, according to NDTV.
The crash took place on May 19 when the minor, reportedly from the family of a prominent city realtor, was driving a Porsche car with no number plate. He was booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The teenager was taken to the Sassoon General Hospital for a medical examination where his blood samples were taken around 11 am that day, according to The Indian Express. The police also took the 17-year-old’s blood samples in the evening on the same day for DNA sampling.
During the investigation, the police said, they found that the doctors had thrown the boy’s blood samples in a dustbin of the hospital. The blood sample of another person was taken and sent to the forensic lab to check for alcohol content, ANI quoted Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar as saying.
The arrested doctors were identified as Ajay Taware and Shrihari Harnor.
According to Kumar, Harnor replaced the 17-year-old’s blood samples on directions from Taware, the head of the Forensic Medicine Department of the hospital.
The minor has been remanded to an observation home till June 5.
On the day of the crash, the Juvenile Justice Board in Pune had granted bail to the minor, directing him to write an essay on the crash and to work with the traffic police for 15 days. The bail conditions had sparked public outrage.
After a public outcry, the board cancelled the bail on May 22.
The minor’s father was arrested on May 21 under the Motor Vehicles Act for letting his son drive a car and under the Juvenile Justice Act for wilful neglect of a minor.
On May 23, the police said they were looking into the option of booking the boy’s father for allegedly destroying evidence as he had attempted to show that the vehicle was being driven by an adult and not his son.
Kumar said that the CCTV footage recorded at the security cabin of the minor’s residence showed that he was driving the car while leaving the house. “Also, the statements of the eye-witnesses corroborate this technical evidence,” the commissioner added.
Kumar also said that the minor “was in full senses” when he committed the offence.
The police arrested the minor’s grandfather on Saturday for allegedly abducting and wrongfully confining the family’s driver in an attempt to force him to claim that he was driving the Porsche when the crash happened.
The minor’s father has also been booked in the matter, registered based on a first information report filed by the driver.
The driver alleged that the minor’s grandfather and father took him to their home and snatched away his mobile phone. They allegedly confined him in their home and asked him to take the blame for the crash.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!