Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised strong action against the teen who crashed his high end car into a motorbike, killing two people on the spot. Fadnavis condemned the “lenient” punishment given to the boy by the Juvenile Justice Board – a 300-word essay on accidents, working with the traffic police for 15 days and undergoing counselling for his drinking in contrast with the heinous crime. “How can the Juvenile Justice (II) Board give such an order,” he asked.
The Porsche car allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, who the police claim was drunk at the time, knocked down two IT professionals in Kalyani Nagar area of the city in the early hours of Sunday. Witnesses said Ashwini was thrown 20 feet in the air and Aneesh was flung into a parked car.
“We have appealed to the district court against the Juvenile Justice (11) Board order. There is a huge public out- rage. I have taken stock of the investigation updates till now,” Fadnavis said.
The minor, son of a prominent realtor in Pune, was seen drinking with his friends at a bar hours before the crash. The police have arrested the owners of the bar for allowing underage drinking. The legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25.
The boy had gone to “two restaurants with 10-12 friends on Saturday night, where they were served alcohol”, the police said.
“The minor is 17 years and 8 months old and as per the Nirbhaya case, any- one above 16 years old should be considered an adult in cases of heinous crimes, stressed the Deputy Chief Minister.
The teen was caught but granted bail within 15 hours of the incident, sparking massive public outrage. The father has now been arrested under sections 75 (willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses) and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act (sup- plying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs).
Fadnavis also detailed the government’s steps to avoid similar incidents in future: “Administration has been alerted to take closure action against those pubs where violations are found and drink driving checks by police on important places.