Pune Car Crash: Cops Arrest 2 Doctors For Manipulating Blood Report

The Pune cops have arrested two doctors for manipulating the blood test report of the 17-year-old boy who killed two techies in a car accident on May 19.

As per the police, the accused minor was heavily drunk at the time of the accident. Those held have been identified as Dr Ajay Taware and Shrihari Harnor.

The arrests were made after it was revealed that the minor's blood samples from the accident had been swapped with those of a person who had not consumed alcohol.

On May 19, the minor was taken to Sassoon Hospital for a medical checkup around 11 am and the first report from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) revealed that there was no alcohol in his blood.

A subsequent blood report revealed alcohol in the minor's bloodstream, while DNA tests confirmed that the samples belonged to two other individuals. Investigators were prompted to suspect that doctors at the government hospital had tampered with the evidence to shield the accused juvenile.

Speaking to media, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar said, "Around 11 am on May 19, a blood sample (of the teen) that was taken at Sassoon Hospital was thrown in a dustbin and the blood sample of another person was taken and sent to the forensic lab. CMO Srihari Halnor replaced this blood sample. During the investigation, we found Srihari Halnor replaced this on the instructions of Ajay Tawade, HOD of forensic medicine department at Sassoon Hospital,"

The investigating officers have seized the mobile phones of the two doctors as it is revealed that Dr Tawade had spoken to the minor's father on the day of the incident, Kumar added.

The Porsche, allegedly driven by the teenager, who the police claim was drunk at the time, killed two motorbike-borne software engineers in the Kalyani Nagar area of the city in the early hours of Sunday (May 19).

The minor's father Vishal Agarwal and others including the owner and employees of two liquor-serving establishments have been arrested and sent to judicial custody till June 7.

Also, the Pune police have arrested grandfather Surendra Agarwal under IPC sections 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement).

He is accused of coercing the family's driver, Gangaram, to falsely admit responsibility for the incident. Allegedly, Agarwal threatened Gangaram, forcing him to provide statements claiming he was driving the vehicle at the time of the accident, which resulted in the deaths of Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, according to a report in India Today.