The Maharashtra Congress on May 28 demanded the resignation of Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis over the Pune luxury car accident while alleging that a Minister and an MLA of the ruling Mahayuti government had ‘pressured’ doctors at the city’s Sassoon Hospital to manipulate the blood samples of the 17-year-old whose reckless driving had resulted in the two deaths.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, State Congress president Nana Patole demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the matter saying that Chief Minister Eknath Shinde ought to come clear in a case that is becoming murkier. He alleged that the son of a ruling party MLA was with the accused in the car on the night of the accident on May 19.
“The information that we possess is a second person [along with the accused teenager] was an MLA’s son. Many things are hidden in this case. Who is the Minister and the MLA who pressured Dr. Ajay Taware [head of Sassoon General Hospital’s Forensic Medicine department] to change the samples of the accused?” said Mr. Patole.
The Congress’s allegations come a day after the Pune police team investigating the case arrested Dr. Tavare along with Dr. Shrihari Halnor, chief medical officer of Sassoon, along with another staffer Atul Ghatkamble for replacing the blood samples of the accused with that of another person in the aftermath of the accident. The police revealed that the doctors had accepted money from the family of the accused juvenile as bribes for the illegal act.
Mr. Patole said Mr. Fadnavis had reportedly used his own training as a lawyer to save the accused. The State Congress chief targeted NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who is the Guardian Minister of Pune district, for allegedly ‘shielding’ those involved in the case.
“Illegal pubs are rampant in Pune and Nagpur. After the luxury car accident case, 36 illegal pubs in Pune had to be demolished by authorities. Earlier, in Nagpur, two girls from wealthy families had mowed down two youths in a case of drunken driving. They got bail within 10 hours. In Jalgaon, too, a similar case was reported and an attempt was made to save the accused,” said the State Congress chief.
“CM Shinde must come forward and demand Mr. Fadnavis’ resignation. He must acknowledge how the BJP has tried to destroy the youth by advocating a rampant pub culture,” Mr. Patole said.
The three-member panel formed by the State government in the wake of the arrest of the Sassoon doctors visited the hospital today. Panel chairperson, Dr. Pallavi Sapale, said all information would be collected and a report would be sent to the government after the committee’s inquiry.
Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar met the committee and urged an impartial probe into the case.
Published - May 28, 2024 09:38 pm IST
