Pune Porsche crash: How doctors ‘changed’ teen driver's blood sample | Sequence of events

Pune Porsche car accident news updates: Two young IT professionals were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old boy, in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar area in Pune. According to the Pune Police, the teenager was drunk at the time. On Monday, Pune Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar claimed that the teen's blood samples were discarded and replaced with another person's samples which showed no traces of alcohol.

The Pune Police has arrested Dr Ajay Taware, head of the Sassoon General Hospital's forensic medicine department, Dr Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer, and a staffer, Atul Ghatkamble, who works under Dr Taware. They were remanded in police custody till May 30.

News18, citing unnamed sources, reported the sequence of events that led to the manipulation of the blood sample of the teen driver.

What happened after Pune Porsche accident

• On May 19 at 11am, a blood sample from the minor accused was taken to Sassoon General Hospital.
• Vishal Agarwal, the teenager's father contacted Dr Ajay Taware.
• Dr Ajay Taware asked Dr Shrihari Halnor to switch the samples, after which a different person's blood sample was sent to the forensic lab.
• Sassoon General Hospital doctors reported that the minor accused had not consumed alcohol.
• Police took another blood sample from the juvenile accused for DNA testing at a different government hospital.
• The second blood sample matched both the minor accused and the father.
• The blood sample from Sassoon General Hospital did not match the accused.
• During police interrogation, the doctor admitted to switching the blood sample.
• The Pune Police suspects that a lab technician or attendant assisted the three arrested individuals.

Pune car crash: Panel visits Sassoon Hospital

A three-member committee conducting an inquiry into the alleged manipulation of the blood samples of the juvenile driver involved in the Porsche car crash on Tuesday visited the Sassoon General Hospital and also met police officials who are probing the case.

In a related development, a local court remanded the father of the 17-year-old in police custody till May 31 in the case of `kidnapping' of the family driver.

The committee headed by Dr Pallavi Sapale, dean of the Grant Medical College and JJ group of hospitals, arrived at the Sassoon hospital earlier in the day.

The committee also visited the office of the Pune crime branch which has taken over the accident case.

"We will submit our observations to the state government and it is the prerogative of the government as to what action it wants to take," said Dr Sapale. "We have been directed by the government to submit the report at the earliest," she added.

(With inputs from PTI)