Porsche crash case: Fadnavis lauds Pune CP, assures corrective action in appointments, admin of Sassoon Hospital

Speaking at the legislative council, Fadnavis accepted lapses in the administration of the state-run Sassoon Hospital and assured that the government would take corrective action in appointments and administration of the hospital

Mumbai: Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday refuted the demand to transfer Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar over the Porsche crash case saying he had acted pro-actively and ensured the arrest and custody of the accused in the case. Speaking at the legislative council, Fadnavis accepted lapses in the administration of the state-run Sassoon Hospital and assured that the government would take corrective action in appointments and administration of the hospital.

HT Image

The demand to transfer Kumar was raised by the leader of opposition in the legislative council Ambadas Danve through a calling attention motion. “In the Pune Porsche car accident case, the state government took action on junior officers but did not take any action on Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar. The government should transfer Amitesh Kumar,” said Danve. He also raised the issue of lapses in Sassoon Hospital.

Fadnavis responded by refuting the demand and lauding Kumar for his handling of the Porsche crash case, in which the minor son of a prominent builder allegedly mowed down two techies.

“Amitesh Kumar handled the Porsche crash case very well. He acted proactively and personally looked into which sections would be applicable in the case. He ensured that section 304 (of the Indian Penal Code pertaining to culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was applied in the case and it was due to his efforts that the minor accused was arrested,” said Fadnavis.

The deputy chief minister said the government had taken action against those police officers who had allowed for lapses in police action, including those attached to Sassoon Hospital. He also admitted that there were lapses in the administration and appointment of doctors at Sassoon Hospital, saying, “I assure the house that the state government will direct the medical education department to take corrective action in appointment of doctors and total administration of Sassoon Hospital.”

Fadnavis mentioned that CCTV cameras equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) would be installed across all pubs in Maharashtra. When Congress MLC Satej Patil expressed concerns over misuse of such cameras and their footage, Fadnavis said the state government would frame rules imposing restrictions on sharing footage with third parties and ensuring that government and security agencies could use the footage as and when required.