In a shocking revelation, Pune Police on Monday disclosed that the blood samples of a 17-year-old boy involved in a fatal car crash were deliberately discarded and replaced with another individual’s samples at Sassoon General Hospital. This incident was allegedly orchestrated by Dr. Ajay Taware, head of the hospital’s Forensic Medicine department, following a request from the juvenile’s father, who is accused of offering inducements for the tampering.
The car crash, which occurred in the early hours of May 19 in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar, resulted in the deaths of two IT professionals after their motorcycle was struck by a speeding Porsche driven by the minor. Police investigations suggest the juvenile was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident.
Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, during a press conference, announced the arrests of Dr. Taware and Dr. Shrihari Halnor, the chief medical officer, for their roles in the manipulation of evidence. Further probing revealed that the father of the juvenile had directly contacted Dr. Taware to facilitate the replacement of the blood samples.
To ensure the accuracy of the forensic evidence, police had taken an additional blood sample from the juvenile for DNA analysis, which was tested at another hospital. The results confirmed that the original blood sample at Sassoon Hospital had been tampered with, as the DNA did not match between the two reports.
The police are now investigating whose blood samples were used as a replacement. They have recovered CCTV footage from Sassoon Hospital as part of the ongoing investigation.
In response to the severity of the manipulation, charges under Indian Penal Code sections 201, 120B, and others have been added to the case against the juvenile, who has also been booked. The juvenile’s father has been made a co-accused in the case.
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Following an initial lenient decision by the Juvenile Justice Board, which granted the teenager bail and asked him to write an essay on road accidents, public outrage prompted the police to file a review application. The juvenile has since been sent to an observation home until June 5. The police have also arrested the teenager’s father, a realtor, and his grandfather in connection to the accident.
