Porsche tragedy: Pune cops probe, grill three generations of Agarwal clan

Pune, May 23: Following the gruesome killing of two persons with a speeding Porsche on May 19, the Pune Police started grilling three generations of the city’s realtor family, Agarwals, here on Thursday.

They include -- Vishal S. Agarwal, his father Surendra Kumar Agarwal, and his minor son -- who was allegedly at the wheel of the Porsche, which he zoomed off in a drunken state at a dizzying speed of some 200 kmph, and barely minutes later killing two techies from Madhya Pradesh.

Vishal S. Agarwal is being probed for allegedly giving his minor son the Porsche car that had no registration and allowing the driver to let the underage boy drive it, though he had no driver’s licence.

During the grilling, he reportedly admitted that it was a ‘mistake’ to give the luxury car to his son on May 18 (Saturday) night which resulted in the early Sunday heinous tragedy.

The elderly Surendra Kumar Agarwal is under the fresh scanner in a 15-year-old case of allegedly ordering a hit on a Shiv Sena ex-corporator Ajay Bhosale over some business dispute in October 2009, and the matter is currently sub-judice, with the Crime Branch probing the alleged mafia links with Rajendra Nikhalje, alias Chhota Rajan.

Finally, the minor boy -- labelled as the ‘Richie rich brat’, who grabbed national headlines -- is being questioned by the concerned authorities at the Juvenile Correctional Home where he was shunted on May 22, after a massive public outcry and protests.

According to the investigators, the boy had splurged at least Rs 48,000 on a party for around a dozen of his young friends at a restaurant and pub in Pune, where they were served a choice of imported hard liquors without verifying their age, and even kept the establishments open beyond the permissible hours.

After the binge, the youngsters trooped out and the minor boy sped off in his Porsche killing Ashwini Koshta and Aneesh Awadhiya -- both 24 -- who were returning home on a motorcycle after a reunion with friends that fateful morning.

Barely 15 hours later, the boy -- ostensibly using his influential family connections -- secured bail, was ‘punished’ in the form of writing an essay on the Porsche tragedy, consented to work for a fortnight with the Yerawada Traffic Police Department and willingness to undergo medical counselling for alcohol de-addiction.

As the local people expressed rage and the issue snowballed politically, the Pune Police filed a review plea against the May 19 order after which the Juvenile Justice Board on May 22 cancelled his bail and sent him to the Juvenile Correctional Home for 14 days.

Along with Agarwals spanning three generations, three others accused in the same case were also arrested on May 20 -- the Cosie Restaurant owner Prahlad Bhutada, manager Sachin Katkar and bartender Sandeep Sangle.

They are currently in police custody till Friday (May 24) for allegedly serving alcohol illegally to a minor customer and his friends without verifying their identity or age, and the premises were raided and sealed by the State Excise Department on Wednesday.