Porsche case: Pune police add new charges against juvenile

Pune The Pune police on Thursday charged the 17-year-old boy involved in the May 19 Porsche hit-and-run with destroying evidence, forgery, as well as offences under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
Officers submitted a supplementary report with the fresh charges before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), roughly three months after it initially filed a “final report” charging the minor with “culpable homicide not amounting to murder” under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“The ‘supplementary final report’ added charges under IPC sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 213 (taking gift to screen an offender), 214 (offering gift or restoration of property to screen an offender), as well as sections 466, 467, 468, and 471 related to forgery,” said a crime branch official.
Secctions of the Prevention of Corruption Act were also invoked as part of the investigation, said officers, adding that the minor colluded with his parents, doctors from Sassoon General Hospital — where the boy’s blood samples were collected after the accident — and intermediaries to tamper with evidence.
Police said Sassoon hospital doctors and staff were paid ₹3 lakh to swap his blood samples.
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Investigators have also included technical data on the speed of the car at the time of the incident, along with witness testimonies to support the new charges.
The juvenile was released in June following a high court order, though his parents, and seven others — including two Sassoon Hospital doctors and intermediaries—are in judicial custody at Yerawada Central Jail.
The 17-year-old, who was inebriated, allegedly rammed his speeding Porsche into a motorcycle early on May 19, killing two software engineers.
The 17-year-old, the son of a real estate developer, was released with a slap on the wrist by the juvenile board hours after the accident, but was taken into custody once the incident came to light and triggered public outrage. The Bombay high court later ordered his released.
However, in that time, the police investigation revealed evidence of evidence-tampering and a string of other crimes.