Pune police to move higher court for permission to try teenager involved in accident as adult

PUNE: Pune Police on Monday said they will seek a higher court's permission to try as an adult a 17-year-old boy whose car allegedly knocked down and killed two persons in Kalyani Nagar area here.

The accident took place on early Sunday morning. The Juvenile Justice Board's decision to grant the youngster bail on the same day while asking him to write an essay on road accidents has drawn criticism.

The youngster, son of a real estate developer, was drunk at the time of the accident, police claimed on Monday. A case has been registered against him under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder ) of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.

A group of friends were returning on motorbikes around 3.15 am on Sunday after a party when a speeding luxury car hit one of the motorcycles at Kalyani Nagar junction. The two riders -- Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa -- died of their injuries.

The youngster who was allegedly driving the car was produced before the Juvenile Justice Board which granted him bail. It also directed him to visit the Regional Transport Office and study all the rules and regulations, and submit a presentation to the Board within 15 days. "The CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) will write an essay of 300 words on the topic of road accidents and their solutions," the order read.

The board also directed the youth to assist RTO officers for 15 days and submit a report. He should be referred to an alcohol de-addiction centre for counselling, it said.

"On Sunday itself we had moved an application before the court (board) seeking permission to try the juvenile as an adult and send him to an observation home as the crime is heinous, but the plea was rejected. We are now approaching the sessions court with the same plea," said Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar.

His blood report was yet to be received but preliminary probe showed that the juvenile was drunk at the time of the accident, he said.

"The CCTV footage of the bar clearly shows that the juvenile was consuming alcohol. There is no doubt that the juvenile was driving the car after consuming alcohol. We will be submitting all these facts to the court," commissioner Kumar said.

"We have also registered an offence against his father under the Juvenile Justice Act, and against the proprietors of the bar establishment for serving alcohol to an underage person. We have transferred the probe of these cases to the crime branch," he further said.

Police displayed professionalism while dealing with the case, Kumar claimed. "The case was transferred to an ACP-level officer and it is our endeavour to make a watertight case. We will appoint a special counsel in this case," he added.