Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the bail granted to a teenager involved in a Porsche hit-and-run case in Pune. On May 19, a collision caused by the Porsche resulted in the deaths of a young man and woman on a bike. Gandhi expressed his views through a video posted on social media platform X.
In the video message, Gandhi lamented, 'If a bus driver, truck driver, Ola, Uber, or auto rickshaw driver accidentally kills someone, they face a 10-year prison sentence. But if an affluent 16-17-year-old crashes a Porsche while drunk, killing two, he’s asked to write an essay instead.'
'Why not ask these drivers to write essays?'
Gandhi questioned, 'Why aren’t essays demanded from truck, bus, Uber, or rickshaw drivers?' He added, 'When Narendra Modi was questioned about the growing divide between the rich and the poor, his response was, should I make everyone poor? That’s not the question; it’s about justice. Rich and poor alike should receive justice equally. That’s why we are fighting against injustice.'
What is the entire incident?
The hit-and-run took place the morning of May 19 in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar. A real estate developer Vishal Agrawal's 17-year-old son ran over two engineers on a bike with his sports car, a Porsche, leading to their deaths. 15 hours after the incident, the underage accused was granted conditional bail by the court.
The court instructed him to work with the traffic police for 15 days and write an essay of 300 words on the impact and resolution of road accidents. However, the police investigation revealed the accused was under the influence of alcohol and driving at high speed.
Permission sought for trial as an adult
In this case, Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar stated that the juvenile accused should be tried as an adult. The police have sought permission from the higher court for this. This statement from the commissioner came amidst public outrage over bail being granted to the juvenile. The accused has been charged under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 304A (causing death by negligence), and relevant sections of the Motor Vehicles Act.
