Today, On 2nd July, A Pune teenager’s father and grandfather have been granted bail in a case involving the kidnapping of their family driver. Additionally, Vishal Agarwal faces separate allegations of evidence tampering, specifically accused of swapping the minor’s blood sample with his mother’s to evade detection of alcohol.
Pune: A Pune court on Tuesday granted bail to the father and grandfather of the teenager accused in the Pune Porsche crash, who involved in a case of kidnapping and wrongful confinement of their family driver.
SK Agarwal, the juvenile’s grandfather, expected to be released soon following the bail order issued by Bari Court.
However, Vishal Agarwal, the minor’s father, will remain in judicial custody as the police need to submit documents related to the blood-swapping case. The Pune Police alleged that Surendra Kumar Agarwal kidnapped the driver and brought him to his bungalow after the accident occurred on May 19 at midnight.
The police stated,
“That night, the driver stayed at the Agarwal residence located in Kalyaninagar. Subsequently, the crime branch informed the court that his wife and children were also brought to the same location. To substantiate this, the crime branch reviewed CCTV footage from Agarwal’s bungalow and conducted search operations,”
However, defence lawyer Prashant Patil argued in court that the driver arrived at the bungalow voluntarily. Additionally, Patil mentioned that the driver, fearing a mob attack, stayed at Agarwal’s bungalow with his family that night.
Following the judicial custody order in the abduction case, bail granted to Surendra Kumar Agarwal.
Meanwhile, Vishal Agarwal has also been granted bail in this case; however, his custody will continue concerning the blood swapping case.
Despite being granted bail in a previous case, Vishal Agarwal remains in Yerwada Central Prison due to three other ongoing cases.
One of these cases involves the alleged kidnapping and wrongful confinement of the family driver, with accusations that the Agarwals pressured him to take responsibility for driving the car.
Another case concerns potential evidence tampering, with allegations that the minor’s blood sample swapped with his mother’s to avoid detecting alcohol.
According to the complaint filed by the driver, Gangadhar, taken against his will to the home of a minor on the night of May 19, after leaving the Yerawada Police Station. The minor’s grandfather and father allegedly threatened Gangadhar, seized his phone, and forcibly confined him in their bungalow, in an attempt to compel him to take responsibility for a crime instead of the minor.
The police station registered a case against the juvenile driver under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Motor Vehicles Act, including charges of rash driving and causing death by negligence.
The police have charged the minor with rash and negligent driving and causing harm by endangering life or personal safety under IPC Sections 304A, 279, 337, 338, and 427, along with relevant sections of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicle Act.