Pune Porsche crash: Police say teen's family forced driver to take blame, offered money

The family of the 17-year-old boy, who accidentally killed two techies in Pune by ramming his Porsche car to their motorcycle, had forced the driver to accept the blame, police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told the media on Saturday. He said the family confined the man, threatened him and offered a bribe, in order to save the teenager from legal action.

The police officer said when the driver first came to the police station, he gave a written statement saying he had been driving the car when the accident took place. After a probe, they figured out it was the teenager who was driving the car.

"The family threatened the driver to take the blame. The driver was kept confined. The driver wasn't behind the wheel. Family (of the accused minor) tried to bribe the driver," the officer added.

Earlier this week, the police told a court that the driver had refused to let the boy drive the car and called the latter's father to inform him about his antics. However, the boy's father, a wealthy realtor, asked the driver to let the teenager drive.

The Pune Police Crime Branch on Saturday morning arrested the grandfather of the minor for allegedly confining the driver. A separate FIR has been registered against him under IPC sections 365 and 368.

The driver, Gangadhar, had lodged a complaint with the police alleging that he was taken to Surendra Agarwal's (the grandfather) home against his will on the night of May 19 after he left the police station.

They snatched his phone and kept him confined in their bungalow.

The boy was first let off on bail with the condition that he would write an essay on road safety. However, after nationwide outrage, his bail was cancelled, and he was sent to a reform home.

The police are accused of according to the boy preferential treatment. A senior official is probing the allegation. They have suspended two police personnel over the case.

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

“The in-charge PI and one other officer have been placed under suspension and departmental proceedings have been initiated for primary lapses in the overall conduct of this preliminary initial phase of the investigation,” said Kumar.

Meanwhile, the police have booked a social media influencer for making a fake video of the teenager boasting about the car crash.

With inputs from PTI, ANI