The Pune police have arrested Shivani Agarwal, 49, the mother of a teenager who allegedly crashed his luxury car, killing two men, while driving under the influence of alcohol. Ms. Agarwal has been accused of swapping her blood sample with that of her minor son during the blood alcohol content test carried out at Sassoon General Hospital following the accident.
Ms. Agarwal, accused of evidence tampering, was presented in a local court for judicial custody. Pune police requested the court to grant seven days police custody for further investigation. Prior to her arrest, the crime branch recorded her statement at her residence.
Earlier, the doctors allegedly involved in swapping the samples — the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Shrihari Halnor, who took the blood sample of the teenage driver, the forensic medicine department’s Ajay Taware, and hospital staff member Atul Ghatkamble — were also arrested on charges of tampering with the evidence.
Police also questioned hospital nurses, leading to the revelation of Ms. Agarwal’s alleged role in the swapping of blood samples. She has been booked under Sections 120 B, 201, 468, and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 7, and 7 A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
‘Recommendations are common’
As the probe continues, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar came to the defence of his party’s MLA Sunil Tingre, who has been accused of seeking to influence the investigation, both through Dr. Taware, whom he recommended for his current post at the hospital, and by his presence at the Yerwada police station immediately after the accident.
In a December 2023 letter to Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif, Mr. Tingre had said, “I request you to kindly consider giving the additional charge of the medical superintendent to Taware.”
Mr. Pawar dismissed any accusations of wrongdoing on the part of Mr. Tingre. “All the allegations against him are baseless and he is ready for any kind of inquiry. Recommendations are common; as public representatives, we all give recommendations for transfer or change of the officer, and [it] should be accepted if it fits the rules. I have a finance and planning department with me and I make so many recommendations, but whether to accept and make the appointments lies with the respective department. In this case, ‘mistakes’ seem to [have been] made by officials in various government departments and when things came up, action has been taken,” the deputy CM said.
Alleged evidence tampering
Reports have also surfaced that Mr. Tingre received 45 calls within an hour after the crash from the accused teen’s father Vishal Agarwal. His presence at the Yerwada police station immediately after the accident has raised more questions about Mr. Tingre’s connection with the case, and the alleged manipulation of evidence.
Mr Pawar said, “It is a common practice for an MLA to take cognisance of incidents occurring in their areas. The same goes for Mr. Tingre. This is not the first time; earlier also, when a slab collapsed in his constituency killing two people, he visited the spot. He did not order anyone to protect anybody. He visited the police station after the accident as any representative will do. He received a call, which we know, and we went to the police station to inquire about the matter.” The deputy CM slammed the Opposition for attacking him and remarked, “I never tried to shield anyone of any wrongdoing.”
The case revolves around the incidents of May 19, when the accused minor allegedly consumed alcohol at a club before recklessly speeding in a luxury car and colliding with a motorcycle, killing two IT professionals, Aneesh Awadhiya, 24, and Ashwini Koshta, 24.
Mr. Pawar said that Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, who heads the home department, had instructed the Pune police the day after the accident to carry out an intensive probe.
“Even the chief minister [Eknath Shinde] has given the right instructions. Action was taken against those police officials who initially delayed the procedure. Those from Sassoon General Hospital who were involved in the case have also faced police action,” he added.
In the Porsche case, the minor has been sent to an observation home till June 5, while his father, realtor Vishal Agarwal, and grandfather Surendra Agarwal have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping the family’s driver and putting pressure on him to take the blame.
Police have also arrested two doctors and a staffer from the Sassoon hospital for allegedly swapping the minor’s blood samples with those of his mother to show that he was not drunk at the time of the accident.
In the latest action, the teenager’s mother was arrested.
