In the latest development of Pune Porche accident, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday reacted to the road accident in Pune in which two motorbike-borne IT professionals died after being crashed down by a 17 year teenager who was allegedly drunk driving luxury car Porche.
Rahul Gandhi posted a video on ‘X’, where he is saying blaming Prime Minister Modi for creating two divisions india, where Justice can be corrupted by the weight of Money.
He can also be heard saying that, if a bus driver, truck driver, or any Ola, Uber or auto driver accidentally kills someone, they are sentenced to 10 years in jail.
“But if a 16-17-year-old son of a wealthy household, driving a Porsche under the influence, is caught, he is asked to write an essay,” Gandhi said. “Why aren’t essays assigned to truck drivers or bus drivers?”
नरेंद्र मोदी दो हिंदुस्तान बना रहे हैं – जहां न्याय भी दौलत का मोहताज है। pic.twitter.com/uuJHvDdeRD
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 21, 2024
Rahul Gandhi Indeed hinted towards the new Hit-and-run law, that faced a lot of opposition from the Truck drivers.
The new Hit-and-run law
The new law under Section 106 (2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023 states in brief, a jail term of up to 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 7 lakh can be imposed. These provisions will apply if a driver flees an accident spot and does not report the incident to a police officer or a magistrate.
Whereas the previous law was –
Section 304A of the IPC states that “whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.”
The Accident
The accident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area. According to police reports, a luxury Porsche, driven by the 17-year-old, collided with a motorcycle, instantly killing Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta. The crash, captured on CCTV, revealed the car travelling at an estimated speed of 200 kmph in a narrow lane.
What are the actions taken against the Minor?
Although the minor has been granted bail under the Juvenile act, but the Pune police has arrested the father of the minor, Vishal Agrawal was at first absconding when the case was registered against him under the sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, but then later he was arrested in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Tuesday, May 21.
On tuesday, the owners of the bar were arrested for serving alcohol to a minor.
About the minor particulary, the Juvenile Justice Board along with compulsary bail just after 15 hours of detention to a minor has also imposed a series of rehabilitative conditions, including mandatory counselling, a de-addiction program, and a 300-word essay on road safety. This lenient response has been widely criticised given the severity of the accident.
In response to the bail decision, Pune police have filed an application with the sessions court to try the juvenile as an adult. This move is grounded in the belief that the crime’s gravity warrants harsher judicial scrutiny. “We have taken yesterday’s incident seriously. We have taken action under section 304 of IPC, which is a non-bailable section as it was a heinous crime,” said Commissioner Kumar.
Additionally, the police have initiated legal action against the pub where the minor was seen drinking. The proprietors face serious charges for their role in providing alcohol to the minor boy, contributing to the tragic events that followed.
The case has now been transferred to Pune Police’s crime branch.
