Pune Porsche Crash: A Case of Privilege against Justice

A shocking incident rattled the city of Pune in May 2024 when a car accident led to the demise of two young IT professionals. The tragedy involved a teenager driving a supercar at an unsafe speed, resulting in the deadly collision. The event provoked public outrage for several reasons, including claims that the underage driver was intoxicated at the time, concerns about how he was handled while in police detention, and the role of the teenager's father in the aftermath.

Early on a Sunday morning, a 17-year-old boy allegedly driving a Porsche at high speed collided with a motorcycle. The motorcyclists, Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24, were killed. CCTV footage reportedly showed the car traveling at an excessive speed in a narrow lane.

Investigating the matter, the Pune Police then arrested the 17-year-old, who they believed was behind the wheel of the luxury car when it hit the bike. Pune Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar said that the minor, belonging to a prominent realtor’s family, was celebrating his Class XII results at a local pub, where he was seen consuming alcohol before the crash.

While he was heading home from the bar, the teen lost control of the car and rammed into the motorcycle around 2.30 am.

“Upon inquiry, the minor has said his father had handed over the grey Porsche to him despite knowing that he had no driver’s training and did not have a driver’s license. He has also said his father allowed him to party with his friends and that his father was aware that he was consuming alcohol,”

reads the FIR registered by Assistant Police Inspector Vishwanath Todkari at Yerwada Police Station, as per an Indian Express report.

The Pune Police transferred the Pune Porsche Crash case to the crime branch for further investigation. The teenager's father was also arrested for allegedly allowing his underage son access to the car. Additionally, the owners of bars where the teenager may have been served alcohol, might face arrest.

After being apprehended, the 17-year-old was produced before the holiday court on Sunday afternoon where authorities sought his custody and permission to try him as an adult. However, the court refused and granted him bail within 14 hours of the crime under certain conditions.

According to the police, the juvenile was granted bail because the court did not consider the crime to be severe. The teen’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, said the court granted bail on certain conditions. First, the teen would have to “work with traffic police of Yerwada for 15 days”. Secondly, he would have to pen a 300-word essay on the ‘effect of road accident and their solution’. As part of his bail conditions, the teen accused would also have to undergo treatment from a doctor to help him quit drinking and “take psychiatric counselling” and submit the report to the court.

The case sparked outrage among the public for several reasons. To begin with, the claim that the teen was driving while intoxicated raised concerns about underage drinking and inadequate enforcement of the law. Additionally, accounts that the teen was given special treatment while in custody, such as supposedly being brought fast food, stoked accusations of privilege.

After news broke of the bail conditions in the matter, outrage ensued, with many accusing the judge of going soft on the accused. Many expressed their contempt for the system on X (formerly Twitter); some calling the Indian judiciary “a joke”.

Following the outrage, Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis reached out to the Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar and asked him to ensure there was no soft-pedalling against the accused in the Porsche hit-and-run case. And following this, Commissioner Kumar said that they would appeal the order in a higher court. “We will not leave any stone unturned to prove that this is a heinous crime,” he was quoted as telling India Today.