Pune Porsche accident: Teen driver submits road safety essay as part of bail conditions
In the hand-written essay the boy speaks of intense fear that drove him to try and escape the scene of the accident, said sources in the Juvenile Justice Board.
The 17-year-old driver involved in a crash that claimed the lives of two software engineers in Pune on May 19, submitted a 300-word essay on road safety on Wednesday to the Juvenile Justice Board fulfilling part of his bail conditions.
In the hand-written essay the boy speaks of the intense fear that drove him to try and escape the scene of the accident, said sources in the Juvenile Justice Board who have read the piece. “He wrote that fear prompted him to escape before he was apprehended by passers-by instead of going to the police straightway and informing them of the accident.”
The minor, three months short of his 18th birthday, had been driving his father’s unregistered Porsche while under the influence of alcohol when he knocked down.
a man and a woman who were on a bike at Kalyaninagar. He was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board within hours of the accident on seemingly lenient conditions that included him writing an essay on road safety and pledging to spend 15 days with the traffic police observing different traffic rules. These conditions lead to a public outcry and suspicion that the teenager had been treated leniently on account of his social cachet and political connections.
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The essay, which shies from mentioning his victims, reportedly urges readers to approach the nearest police station in the event of an accident, and cautions that failure to do so could lead to further complications. The teen also emphasised the importance of offering assistance to accident victims.
Following the initial outcry, the JJB briefly remanded the teen to an observation home on May 22. However, on June 25, the High Court ruled this detention illegal, stressing the importance of adhering to juvenile justice laws.
Sources note that while the essay touches on general road safety principles, it lacks specific details about the accident or its victims. “The essay is very generic, making it difficult to gauge the juvenile’s emotional state,” source in the Juvenile Justice Board commented.
The teenager’s father and grandfather are still in jail for manipulating the blood samples of the juvenile. On Wednesday, neither his lawyer Prashant Patil, nor JJB member Laxman Dhanawade were available for comment. Deputy Commissioner of Police Rohidas Pawar confirmed that the police are prepared to comply with the court order regarding the teen’s traffic monitoring duty, though they have yet to be approached by him.