Pune: The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Wednesday extended till June 25 the observation home remand of a 17-year-old boy allegedly involved in a car crash that killed two IT engineers in Pune after police submitted he was still undergoing counselling sessions and probe in the case was going on.
The Porsche car driven by the teenager, son of builder Vishal Agrawal, crashed into a motorbike in the early hours of May 19, killing IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both hailing from Madhya Pradesh, in Kalyani Nagar. The teen was driving under the influence of alcohol, according to police.
The Pune police through prosecutors sought the extension of the juvenile's custody for another 14 days at the observation home citing his safety. He was in the observation home remand till June 12.
They also told the board that the teen's release at the current juncture may hinder the ongoing investigation into the case and other related matters, including alleged swapping of his blood samples taken after the May 19 accident.
The defence opposed the Pune police's remand extension plea and told the board the minor must be released from the observation facility.
According to a police official, prosecutors in their remand extension plea told the JJB that the minor boy was still undergoing psychological counselling sessions and that he needs to stay at the facility.
He said the prosecution argued they want to treat the juvenile as an adult for the purpose of trial and his further remand was warranted to complete formalities in this regard. The official said the board has asked the police to file their say on the defence plea to give the juvenile's custody to his relatives as his parents are in police custody on separate charges related to the accident.
Defence lawyer Prashant Patil, however, opposed the prosecution plea of remand extension and said the juvenile must be released from the observation home and handed over to his relatives. Patil said the JJB did not touch the grounds cited by the police while seeking extension of the remand.
The defence lawyer said the board, in its order, stated that the Child in Conflict with Law (CCL) was undergoing psychological counselling sessions at the observation home.
Three counselling sessions have been completed and as many more are remaining. Since the child is showing signs of improvement, remaining in the observation home will help him reintegrate into society's mainstream, said Patil, citing the board. After hearing arguments of both sides, the JJB extended the boy's stay at the observation home till June 25.
The boy's parents are in police custody in connection with a case related to alleged swapping of his blood samples at the state-run Sassoon General Hospital.
Besides the minor's parents, the police have also arrested his grandfather Surendra Agarwal for allegedly kidnapping the family's driver and putting pressure on him to take the blame for the accident, among other charges.
The other persons arrested in the case are two doctors and an employee of Sassoon General Hospital for allegedly swapping the blood samples of the minor boy with those of his mother's. The police have registered three separate cases in connection with the accident. The cases include an FIR in connection with the accident and the second one against the pub that allegedly served liquor to the juvenile.
The police have booked the boy's father for allowing him to drive the car without a valid license. A third case is about wrongful confinement and coercion of the family driver to take the blame for the fatal accident.
