Porsche crash: 2 cops suspended; bar owners protest against govt action

Pune, May 24 : The Pune Police on Friday suspended two policemen for alleged dereliction of duty in connection with the May 19 car crash in which a Porsche driven by a minor killed two techies from Madhya Pradesh.

The two officers are Inspector Rahul Jagdale and Assistant Inspector Vishwanath Todkar, both attached to the Yerawada police station under which Kalyaninagar, where the accident took place, falls.

According to officials, Jagdale and Todkar were present in the police station at the time of the accident at around 2.30 a.m. on May 19. They have been accused of dereliction of duty besides not alerting their senior officers about the major mishap that has sparked a nationwide furore.

In a related development, hundreds of bar and pub owners in Pune demonstrated wearing black T-shirts against the clampdown on their businesses, saying the move would render over 60,000 people unemployed, making it difficult for them to take care of their families.

They also slammed the demands by various Opposition parties, including the Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (SP), CPM, and other social groups to ban bars/pubs for flouting rules and regulations.

“We are doing our business honestly… Someone else was responsible for the fatal road accident. He should be punished, why are you targeting all the bars and pubs,” asked an irate bar employee.

The demonstrations came after the Pune authorities initiated city-wide action against more than 40 bars and pubs for violating different rules and regulations following Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis’ stern warning earlier this week.