Latest news with #ShishirHiray
Indian Express
8 hours ago
- Indian Express
Accused in Porsche crash case using delay tactics in proceedings: Special Prosecutor
DAYS after the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and concluded the arguments, the Special Public Prosecutor in the case, Adv Shishir Hiray told the court that the accused were using tactics to delay the proceedings of the court. Hiray made the arguments in reply to a demand for the copy of the chargesheet by two of the accused, which Hiray already provided to them. On June 27, Special Prosecutor Hiray opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. He had submitted to the court the evidence they have against the 10 accused and what charges can be framed based on that. Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray said, 'Two of the accused have moved an application seeking a copy of the chargesheet. We replied that we have already given them the chargesheet. They argued that we have given them only the part pertaining to the charges against them. We have said that we have already given them the full charge sheet and that this was a concocted demand. We have mentioned that these tactics used by the accused are to delay the proceedings of the court.' On May 19 2024, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after the speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor family, rammed their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with that of the mother's. Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the forensic medicine of Sassoon hospital, Dr Shrihari Halnor, then casualty medical officer; Atul Ghatkamble, a staffer at the hospital's morgue; and Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, who acted as middlemen between the minor's father and the doctors, have all been arraigned. Pune police have also arrested and charged a 37-year-old man who had given his blood to be swapped with that of a minor co-passenger and along with the father of that co-passenger. The 52-year-old father of another minor co-passenger, was also arrested earlier for giving his own blood sample to be swapped with his son. In the hearing on June 27, Adv Hiray had concluded his arguments towards framing of the charges.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
Conclusive DNA proof to show mother's blood swapped with accused minor's: Prosecution to court
As the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and presented its argument towards framing of charges before a court, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray submitted to the court that there was technical and scientific evidence to probe the conspiracy involving all 10 accused, including the DNA evidence that conclusively establishes that the blood sample of the accused minor driver's mother was collected in his place at Sassoon General Hospital. On May 19 last year, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor's family, rammed into their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. Special Prosecutor Hiray said, 'Today we opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. We submitted to the court what evidence we have against the 10 accused and based on that, what charges can be framed. I submitted that this was a major conspiracy in which all the 10 accused are involved. The conspiracy was to shield the inebriated CCL (Child in Conflict with the Law) and his co-passenger friends from any action by the court. And for this, the evidence was destroyed and fake evidence was fabricated. In this manner, a fraud was committed with the judiciary, which has been our argument from the beginning.' Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code pertains to the prosecutor opening the case by describing the charges brought against the accused and stating by what evidence prosecution proposes to prove the guilt of the accused. Hiray added, 'We explained to the court what evidence we have to prove this conspiracy. We have witness statements, technical evidence, scientific evidence, we have also recovered the money exchanged in the offence as part of the conspiracy and how the evidence established the role of each of the accused. For example we have established how money exchanged hands and how Sassoon doctors tampered with sample collection. We have DNA evidence conclusively proving that in the place of the CCL, his mother's blood sample was taken. Also, how the blood sample of one co-passenger's friend was swapped with that of his father, and another co-passenger's sample was exchanged with that of a third person. We have also established the money trail for the swapping of blood samples of the co-passengers.' He further said, We have submitted reports of the Test Identification Parade establishing the identities of the accused. We have submitted CCTV footages that place the accused at various locations during the conspiracy. We have also submitted reports of the handwriting experts. We have said that all 10 accused who were part of the conspiracy had the same intention. We have said that all 10 accused need not be at one place to hatch the conspiracy. We thus presented the entire landscape of the conspiracy to the court and requested that the charges be framed against these accused.' Following the incident on May 19, police investigation unravelled alleged cover-ups, bribery, abuse of power, and tampering with blood samples at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver, the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with the mother's. Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the forensic medicine of Sassoon hospital, Dr Shrihari Halnor, then casualty medical officer; Atul Ghatkamble, a staffer at the hospital's morgue; and Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, who acted as middlemen between the minor's father and the doctors, have all been arraigned. Pune police have also arrested and charged a 37-year-old man who had given his blood to be swapped with that of a minor co-passenger and along with the father of that co-passenger. The 52-year-old father of another minor co-passenger, was also arrested earlier for giving his own blood sample to be swapped with his son. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
Conclusive DNA proof to show mother's blood taken instead of minor's: Prosecution to court
As the prosecution in the Porsche crash opened its case and presented its argument towards framing of charges before a court, Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray submitted to the court that there was technical and scientific evidence to probe the conspiracy involving all 10 accused, including the DNA evidence that conclusively establishes that the blood sample of the accused minor driver's mother was collected in his place at Sassoon General Hospital. On May 19 last year, two young IT engineers — Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta — were killed after a speeding Porsche car, allegedly driven by an inebriated 17-and-a-half-year-old from a Pune realtor's family, rammed into their motorcycle at Kalyani Nagar junction. Special Prosecutor Hiray said, 'Today we opened the prosecution case under CrPC section 226. We submitted to the court what evidence we have against the 10 accused and based on that, what charges can be framed. I submitted that this was a major conspiracy in which all the 10 accused are involved. The conspiracy was to shield the inebriated CCL (Child in Conflict with the Law) and his co-passenger friends from any action by the court. And for this, the evidence was destroyed and fake evidence was fabricated. In this manner, a fraud was committed with the judiciary, which has been our argument from the beginning.' Section 226 of the Criminal Procedure Code pertains to the prosecutor opening the case by describing the charges brought against the accused and stating by what evidence prosecution proposes to prove the guilt of the accused. Hiray added, 'We explained to the court what evidence we have to prove this conspiracy. We have witness statements, technical evidence, scientific evidence, we have also recovered the money exchanged in the offence as part of the conspiracy and how the evidence established the role of each of the accused. For example we have established how money exchanged hands and how Sassoon doctors tampered with sample collection. We have DNA evidence conclusively proving that in the place of the CCL, his mother's blood sample was taken. Also, how the blood sample of one co-passenger's friend was swapped with that of his father, and another co-passenger's sample was exchanged with that of a third person. We have also established the money trail for the swapping of blood samples of the co-passengers.' He further said, We have submitted reports of the Test Identification Parade establishing the identities of the accused. We have submitted CCTV footages that place the accused at various locations during the conspiracy. We have also submitted reports of the handwriting experts. We have said that all 10 accused who were part of the conspiracy had the same intention. We have said that all 10 accused need not be at one place to hatch the conspiracy. We thus presented the entire landscape of the conspiracy to the court and requested that the charges be framed against these accused.' Following the incident on May 19, police investigation unravelled alleged cover-ups, bribery, abuse of power, and tampering with blood samples at the government-run Sassoon General Hospital. The fatal accident had taken place after the minor and his friends had celebrated their Class 12 exam results at a pub. The minor was allegedly driving a Porsche Taycan luxury car which did not have number plates. Other than the minor driver, the police have till now arraigned and chargesheeted a total of 10 accused. The 51-year-old realtor father and 50-year-old mother of the minor have been charged with criminal conspiracy for allegedly orchestrating a swap of the minor driver's blood sample—collected at Sassoon Hospital—with the mother's. Dr Ajay Taware, then head of the forensic medicine of Sassoon hospital, Dr Shrihari Halnor, then casualty medical officer; Atul Ghatkamble, a staffer at the hospital's morgue; and Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad, who acted as middlemen between the minor's father and the doctors, have all been arraigned. Pune police have also arrested and charged a 37-year-old man who had given his blood to be swapped with that of a minor co-passenger and along with the father of that co-passenger. The 52-year-old father of another minor co-passenger, was also arrested earlier for giving his own blood sample to be swapped with his son. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
Hindustan Times
24-06-2025
- Hindustan Times
Pune Porsche crash: Prosecution seeks trial of teen as adult, JJB verdict on July 15
Jun 24, 2025 09:34 AM IST The prosecution on Monday urged the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to treat the teenager involved in the Porsche crash case as an adult, citing the 'heinous' nature of the crime and the teenager's awareness of its consequences. The board is expected to deliver its verdict on July 15. The May 19, 2024, crash in Kalyani Nagar claimed the lives of two IT professionals, sparking public outrage and a wider investigation into police handling of the case. (HT FILE) Final arguments were presented before Principal Magistrate Garima Bagrodia. Special Public Prosecutor Shishir Hiray argued that the 17-year-old, referred to as Child in Conflict with Law (CCL), was driving under the influence of alcohol and has been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPS) Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 467 (forgery) for alleged tampering of blood samples. 'Both offences are punishable by over 10 years and are categorised as heinous under the Juvenile Justice Act. The CCL knows the consequences and must face trial as an adult,' Hiray told the board. Defence lawyer Prashant Patil opposed the plea, stating that the JJ Act was intended for rehabilitation and reform. He cited a Supreme Court judgment to argue that the charges do not necessarily qualify as 'heinous' under the Act. 'The board must consider the child's potential for reform. Trying him as an adult would go against the spirit of juvenile justice,' he said. The CCL, co-accused Shivani Agarwal, and ACP Ganesh Ingale were present during the hearing. The board has already received a psychological evaluation, deaddiction report, and a probation officer's report. The May 19, 2024, crash in Kalyani Nagar claimed the lives of two IT professionals, sparking public outrage and a wider investigation into police handling of the case.
Indian Express
16-05-2025
- Indian Express
Pune Porsche Case: ‘A fraud was committed on the judicial system by completely changing evidence,' says senior lawyer Shishir Hiray
Senior lawyer Shishir Hiray, who is the Special Public Prosecutor in the Porsche crash case, speaks to Sushant Kulkarni on the challenges in the prosecution of the multifaceted trial and the central point of the case. The prosecution's case involves a complex set of accused individuals — ranging from the minor being tried before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) to 10 adults being prosecuted in regular court, including the minor's parents, two doctors and a staffer from Sassoon Hospital, two alleged middlemen, and the fathers of the two passengers. Given the wide spectrum of individuals with different roles, what are the key legal and procedural challenges of such a multifaceted prosecution? The basic challenge is how to ensure we have a speedy trial. We are working on the case of the CCL (Child in Conflict with Law) and also prosecuting the 10 accused in regular court and are facing as many number of defence lawyers. These accused are from the higher strata of society and those who have resources. With their resources they all can approach the higher courts and when that happens, it naturally delays the process in the lower court. This is not a case where straight-jacket evidence is available like it happens in an open-and-shut case. There are a lot of technicalities involved. We will have to examine a wide range of witnesses including technical witnesses — especially for establishing before the court the conspiracy, motives and the act of swapping the blood samples. Chain of events that have taken place, will have to be established through not just the statement of the witnesses but also technical leads. Police investigation includes DNA test, DNA profiling which are comparatively newer branches of the law. All the witnesses in the case are those who have been in subordinate roles to the accused. That is why deposing these witnesses and making sure they do not succumb to any pressures is going to be a big challenge. Investigation officer ACP Ganesh Ingale has stated before the court earlier that witnesses were afraid of coming forward considering the background of the accused. The possibility of the accused pressuring the witnesses will always be there till the time witnesses depose. The accused can use their financial weight, their positions etc. What do you think is the most striking aspect of the probe and the central point of the prosecution's case? The central point is that the blood sample of the intoxicated minor was swapped to fabricate evidence suggesting he was not intoxicated. The conspiracy was to then present this fabricated evidence before the court so that the adjudication will happen based on that. This is the most serious part of this case. And this was done not just for the minor driver but also for the two minor co-passengers. Now, to do this, money power was used, bribes were given, samples were swapped, records were forged. This amounted to thwarting the judicial system. When I took over the case, I carefully studied the details of the investigation. I came to a realisation that this was a fraud done with the judicial administration system by completely changing the evidence. And that is what we have brought out in our case. Where does the case against the CCL driver stand in the JJB? We have submitted that this being a very serious offence, where two young lives were lost, the minor diver should be tried as an adult accused. That application is pending for adjudication. Tell us about the possible timeline of the case in the coming days. If there are no deliberate calculated hurdles created in the case, the charges are expected to be framed in the coming days. From a wider list of witnesses, we plan to examine around 35 witnesses as I see the case right now. A chargesheet has been filed by us against all the accused. The court is yet to frame charges. However, one of the accused, Dr Ajay Taware, has filed his discharge application before a court. And now I am expecting that as a tactic, all these accused will one by one file the discharge applications to prolong the trial. They will make attempts to delay the process. Tell us about the technical evidence. The police had focused on gathering the technical evidence including an AI-based model of the accident. The technical evidence of that nature is primarily against the CCL in the case of the accident. However, the technical and forensic evidence in the case of swapping of blood samples is also crucial that established the swapping of the blood samples and corruption behind it. Prevention of Corruption Act has been invoked in the case as the government employees from Sassoon Hospital were part of the conspiracy and allegedly took bribes for it. How do you plan to bring that out? So the evidence was tampered with as part of the conspiracy. We have concrete proof from the forensic sciences laboratories. Who swapped it? The doctors of Sassoon Hospital. At whose behest? We have technical evidence to prove that too. The money that exchanged hands has been recovered. We have sufficient evidence to prove the charges of corruption. I have a theoretical argument here. Had even one of the accused involved in the conspiracy acted prudently and lawfully, this offence could not have taken place. It is all of their involvement and connivance which has led to the commission of this offence. What is the status of the accused in the case? Except the accused mother of the CCL, all other accused are currently behind bars. She too was released on bail only on the ground that she is a woman and because there is a specific provision under Section 437 of the Criminal Procedure Code. Under this, even in the case of a serious offence, bail can be granted only on the grounds that an accused is a woman. This bail was not on the grounds of merit. Rather that has been my say on the issue when her bail application was pending before the High Court, the accused took an indirect route to apex court. According to me, they have again played with the judicial administration system here. I am categorically saying they have again played with the system. Sushant Kulkarni is a Special Correspondent with The Indian Express in Pune with 12+ years of experience covering issues related to Crime, Defence, Internal Security and Courts. He has been associated with the Indian Express since July 2010. Sushant has extensively reported on law and order issues of Pune and surrounding area, Cyber crime, narcotics trade and terrorism. His coverage in the Defence beat includes operational aspects of the three services, the defence research and development and issues related to key defence establishments. He has covered several sensitive cases in the courts at Pune. Sushant is an avid photographer, plays harmonica and loves cooking. ... Read More
