After facing public scrutiny in the Pune Porsche car accident case, Maharashtra Police have swung into action mode. Following the uproar across social media and news outlets, the police first arrested the builder father of the minor accused. Then the owners and managers of the hotel where alcohol was illegally served to minors were also taken into custody. In an intoxicated state from the alcohol served at the bar, a minor, son of a wealthy individual, caused the death of two young engineers. The Excise Department of Pune has now taken stringent action against the establishment.
Excise officials have sealed the Cozy Bar, where the accused boy had his drinks. They state that the bar was sealed following the collector's instructions. In the presence of police forces, the Excise Department also confiscated bottles of alcohol stored in the bar. The bar is accused of serving alcohol without verifying the age of the accused. In court, the Pune Police presented the owner, manager, and counter-manager of Cozy Bar and demanded a five-day remand. The court granted four days of custody, and all three have been remanded until May 24th.
Revealing CCTV footage comes to light
The bar's CCTV footage revealed that the accused had consumed alcohol with friends prior to the incident. However, the police claimed in the medical report that he had not been drinking, which led the court to grant the accused bail on minimal conditions. The police also implicated the father of the accused and the owner and managers of the bar in the case. Now that the situation has escalated, the Maharashtra government has had to intervene. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has taken cognizance of the matter and assured action. He has also visited the Police Commissioner regarding the case.
Fadnavis says - We will take this to the High Court
Deputy Chief Minister Fadnavis called the Juvenile Justice Board's proceedings surprising and vowed to review everything in the higher court. We are hopeful for a review order. If that doesn't work out, we will knock on the doors of the High Court. Like the Nirbhaya case, where the accused was declared an adult, we will proceed accordingly.
The police prepare to try a minor as an adult
Pune Police are now gearing up to run a case against the minor accused as an adult. The police have sought permission from the court to prosecute the minor as an adult. Previously, they had filed an application with the Juvenile Board on Sunday, requesting to prosecute the adolescent as an adult and to send him to a correction home. As it is defined as a heinous crime under Section 2 of the Juvenile Justice Act, but the petition was dismissed. Against this order, the police are going to appeal in the higher court.
