Porsche accident in Pune: Teen’s family offered money, forced driver to take responsibility for accident, police say

The family of the 17-year-old boy, who accidentally killed two technicians in Pune by crashing his Porsche into their motorcycle, has put pressure on the driver to take responsibility, Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, who is investigating, said on Saturday about the entire incident.

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

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

“The family threatened the driver to take responsibility. The driver was kept in custody. The driver was not behind the wheel. The family (of the accused minor) tried to bribe the driver,” the police officer added.

Earlier this week, police told the court the driver refused to let the boy drive the car and contacted the boy’s father to report his behavior. However, the boy’s wealthy real estate agent father asked the driver to let the teen drive.

On Saturday morning, Pune crime police arrested the minor’s grandfather for allegedly arresting the driver. He faces separate charges under sections 365 and 368 of the IPC.

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

The boy was initially released on bail on the condition that he 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 However, following widespread outrage across the country, his bail was revoked and he was sent to a reform home.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 were made against the police for giving preferential treatment to the boy. A senior official is investigating the accusation and two police officers have been suspended in connection with the affair.

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

“The principal investigator-in-charge and another officer have been suspended and departmental proceedings have been initiated for primary lapses in the overall conduct of this initial preliminary phase of the investigation,” Kumar said.

Meanwhile, police charged a social media influencer with creating a fake video in which the teen bragged about the car crash.