Pune rash driving case: Police seek permission to try juvenile accused as adult

The Pune Police are seeking permission to try the juvenile accused in the Pune rash driving case, which killed two people, as an adult under sections of the Juvenile Justice Act, Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said on Monday. "Police have taken yesterday's incident seriously. We have taken action under section 304 of IPC, which is a non-bailable section as it was a heinous crime...A drunk car driver was rashly driving on a narrow lane," the Pune Commissioner of Police told ANI.

Two individuals, including a young woman, lost their lives after a luxury car collided with their motorcycle near Kalyani Nagar in Pune in the early hours of Sunday, said police officials. The deceased have been identified as Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa. The tragic incident occurred at about 3:15 am.

The driver of the car, who is a minor, was apprehended. But, he was later granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board with several conditions aimed at rehabilitation and awareness. The conditions include the following: The accused should work with the traffic police of Yerawada for 15 days; the accused should write an essay on the accident; should get treatment from the concerned doctor to help him quit drinking; and should take psychiatric counselling and submit a report.

Earlier, the police had said that the minor had been charged the minor with rash and negligent driving and causing harm by endangering life or personal safety under IPC sections 304A, 279, 337, 338, and 427, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Act. The Pune Commissioner of Police further said that the police have moved two applications, seeking permission to try the juvenile accused as an adult. He also informed that the application was rejected by a lower court, following which the police moved to the higher court.

"We moved two applications in this case...It is a heinous crime. In the first application, we have requested that we should be allowed to try the accused as an adult in the case, under provisions of section 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act. In the second application, we have sought permission to keep the accused in remand home till a decision on the first application is taken," CP Amitesh Kumar said. "Unfortunately, both of our applications were rejected. Today, we have applied to a higher court and hope that will get a favourable order. We are exploring all legal remedies to use Sections 2 and 15 of the Juvenile Justice Act," he added.

Stating that the police will take appropriate action irrespective of which "economic strata" the accused belongs to, CP Kumar affirmed that they are handling the case with "full transparency." He also said the police are strictly enforcing the guidelines regarding the closing time of pubs and the complaints of minors being served alcohol.

According to the FIR, the accident occurred as a group of friends were returning home on their motorcycles after a party at a restaurant in Kalyani Nagar. At the Kalyani Nagar junction, a speeding luxury car struck the bike carrying Awadhiya and Costa, causing them to fall and die instantly. The car subsequently crashed into roadside pavement railings. The juvenile's father and the bar that served him liquor face charges under Sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, said the city police in Pune. (ANI)