Sule dares Fadnavis to reveal name of politician who pressured police

Referring to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ recent statement about the police investigating the case being under pressure, Sule dared him to reveal the name of the politician, claiming that the police could only be pressured by those in government

Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule on Thursday waded into the controversy over the fatal accident in Pune on May 19, in which a minor Porsche driver and son of a realtor mowed down two techies. Referring to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ recent statement about the police investigating the case being under pressure, Sule dared him to reveal the name of the politician, claiming that the police could only be pressured by those in government.

Mumbai, India – May 23, 2024: NCP leader Supriya Sule addressing the media, Y. B. Chavan centre, in Mumbai, India, on Friday, May 23, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

“Fadnavis ji, in his media briefing, stated that the police should not work under political pressure. The government itself is admitting political pressure, and only people who part of the government can apply such pressure. I am asking the home minister to name the political leader who was trying to save the accused,” said Sule.

The minor driver, around four months short of his eighteenth birth, was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board within 15 hours of his arrest and asked to write an essay on road accidents as part of the bail conditions, triggering allegations of lenient treatment of the accused. Fadnavis, also the home minister, visited Pune subsequently and met the police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and other senior police officials. Terming the Juvenile Justice Board’s action as ‘lenient’, he said a revision application had been filed by the police. On Wednesday, the JJB cancelled the teen’s bail and remanded him to 14-day custody.

The NCP (SP) MP also slammed the state government, saying, “I have never seen such an insensitive government in my entire life. This is sickening.”

Pune Congress MLA Ravindra Dhangekar out also targeted the Pune police for not booking the teen under section 304 of the Indian Penal Code that pertains to culpable homicide. “If the police had imposed section 304, the accused would not have got bail. But they did not do so. The police commissioner has not taken any action against guilty police officers, which indicates a deal,” Dhangekar said in a post on social media platform X.