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Pune: Two years after the deadly Porsche crash in Pune that killed two young IT engineers, the mother of the accused minor driver has moved a Pune court seeking the blood and viscera analysis reports of victims Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. She is among the 10 accused in the alleged blood sample tampering and cover-up case linked to the accident.
The application was filed as the court is set to frame charges against all the accused booked for criminal conspiracy, forgery, bribery, corruption and destruction of evidence in connection with the alleged swapping of blood samples at Sassoon General Hospital after the crash.
The accident took place in the early hours of May 19, 2024, at Kalyani Nagar in Pune. Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT engineers from Madhya Pradesh, died after a speeding Porsche Taycan, allegedly driven by an intoxicated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a prominent Pune realtor family, rammed into their motorcycle.
In the application, the accused woman stated that the investigating officer had not fully complied with Section 207 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), which requires all relevant documents to be shared with the accused. The plea mentioned that blood samples and viscera of both victims were collected during the postmortem examination and sent for forensic analysis, but the conclusive reports have not yet been provided to the defence.
The application further stated that the matter is currently at the stage of framing charges and argued that unless these forensic reports are supplied, the legal process could be affected. The plea requested the court to direct the investigating agency to hand over the final forensic analysis reports before charges are framed.
Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray opposed the plea and called it another attempt to delay the framing of charges. He also said the application showed insensitivity towards the victims and their families.
During the investigation, Pune police arrested the minor’s mother and father, Dr Ajay Taware, who was then head of the forensic medicine department at Sassoon General Hospital, Dr Shrihari Halnor, then casualty medical officer, hospital staff member Atul Ghatkamble, and alleged middlemen Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad. Police alleged that they were involved in tampering with evidence and swapping blood samples after the crash.
Police also arrested a 37-year-old man accused of giving his blood sample to replace that of a minor co-passenger. The father of another minor passenger was also arrested earlier for allegedly giving his own blood sample to protect his son.
Among the 10 accused in the case, all except hospital staffer Ghatkamble have received bail from the Supreme Court at different stages.
Meanwhile, the teenager accused of driving the Porsche is facing proceedings before the Juvenile Justice Board on charges including culpable homicide. On July 15 last year, the Pune Juvenile Justice Board rejected the police plea to try him as an adult. The prosecution has challenged that order before the Pune Sessions Court.
