“The sessions court has rejected the bail pleas of the accused. To ensure that the trial is fast-tracked, we have already filed an application to frame charges. But Dr Taware has moved court seeking to discharge him from the case. That is why the proceedings are pending,” said Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray.He said their priority will be to tackle the discharge application and go for the framing of charges.Hiray said while opposing the bail applications of the accused, he made the court understand that it was not a simple accident case.”In this case, the accused have played and cheated the judicial system by tampering with the key evidence, such as blood reports. Due to the prosecution’s strong opposition, barring the mother of the juvenile, none of the accused have been able to secure bail,” he said.A senior official from Pune police said that, except for the initial probe on May 19 last year, the entire investigation is being carried out in a professional manner to ensure a watertight case against the accused.According to police, around 2.30 am on May 19, Awadhiya, Costa, and some of their friends were returning home on their bikes from a hotel when a speeding Porsche without a registration number plate rammed into the two-wheeler in Kalyani Nagar, killing Awadhiya and Costa.Police said a 17-year-old boy, who was allegedly drunk, was behind the wheel. His two minor friends and the driver of the car were inside the vehicle at the time of the crash.The juvenile chose to drive the car after partying at two different hotels with his friends and consuming alcohol, they said.Following the accident, the juvenile was detained.Initially, police were accused of giving him preferential treatment, prompting Pune police chief Amitesh Kumar to suspend two cops from the Yerawada police station.Citing the subsequent investigation, police said the teen’s father and Dr Taware, then the head of the Forensic Science department at Sassoon Hospital, got the blood samples of the juvenile swapped with those of his mother with the help of Dr Shreehari Halnore and hospital staffer Ghatkamble.Middlemen Makandar and Gaikwad were accused of facilitating financial transactions for the alleged illegality.Police said the blood samples of the two other minors, who were in the car, were also reportedly swapped to prevent the detection of alcohol.Police then arrested three people, including the fathers of these two minors.After the incident, the issue of serving liquor to underage patrons took centre stage as a case was registered against two hotels that had served alcohol to the juvenile and his friends.(With inputs from PTI)
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