Father of Pune minor, 2 restaurant owners arrested in Porsche accident case

Pune: The Pune police on Tuesday arrested the father of the 17-year-old boy involved in the car accident that killed two persons at Kalyaninagar early Sunday morning. The owner of the two restaurants and one of the staff, who served alcohol to the minor and his friends, have also been arrested and remanded to police custody until May 24.

The father of the minor, one of Pune’s most prominent builders, was arrested from Sambhajinagar. He had been on the run since his son’s accident. He has been booked under Sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act for failing to carry out his duties as a guardian. In addition, he has also been booked under Sections 3 ,5, 199 (a) of the Motor Vehicles Act. The Porsche he bought this March had been running without a licence plate as he had not yet paid the around ₹44 lakh road tax on the car and the minor had been driving without a licence.

The three others arrested were Pralhad Bhutada, owner of the restaurant called Cosie where the minor had his friends first had drinks; the restaurant manager Sachin Katkar; and Sandip Sangale, owner of Blak Club where the group went for a second round of drinks.

“The CCTV camera footage from the bar clearly shows that the juvenile was consuming alcohol. There is no doubt that he was driving under influence. We will be submitting all these facts to the court,” said Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar.

On Tuesday, Maharashtra deputy chief minister and home minister Devendra Fadnavis reached the Pune police commissionerate where he held a meeting with top officers to discuss the investigation. There has been mounting public pressure following the swift bail given to the minor under the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act. Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar questioned the Pune police’s conduct on the social media platform X and demanded a judicial inquiry into the accident. “How did the minor accused get access to alcohol…How did an unregistered car ply on Pune’s roads...Why did it take so long to arrest the father of the minor,” were some of the questions he raised.

Fadnavis blamed the Juvenile Justice Board for their “lenient outlook” in the “face of two people’s deaths and which has caused outrage”. He also defended the Pune police saying they had moved an application saying that the crime was heinous and hence the juvenile should be tried as an adult.

A revision application is with the Juvenile Justice Board and Fadnavis said the Pune police will keep exploring their legal options to ensure strict punishment is meted out.