Outrage has grown across India as many have viewed the teen's punishment as too lenient, with family members of the victims calling for the cancellation of his bail.
NDTVThe damaged Porsche involved in the accident.
After a 17-year-old Indian teenager allegedly killed two people while driving his Porsche drunk and ramming it into a motorcycle, the court granted him bail on a single condition: that he “write an essay” about the incident.
The only other punishment for this alleged double homicide was alcohol treatment, counseling sessions, and aiding local police for 15 days. Outrage ensued as many asked how such a seemingly light punishment could be given for what some have called a “heinous” crime.
The teen, it turned out, is the son of a prominent real estate magnate, and some within the country have accused the judge of being too lenient because of this. The teen’s sentence has since been modified, but the question remains: Does the new punishment really fit the crime?
The Horrific Deaths Caused By A Teen’s Drunk Driving
As India Today reported, the incident reportedly occurred around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday, May 19, in Pune. The 17-year-old, who has not been named, was speeding down the street in a white Porsche when he rammed the car into two motorcyclists who were on their way home from a party at a nearby restaurant, police said.
The teenager then allegedly crashed his Porsche into some railings, and in a video shared on social media, passersby can be seen swarming the driver as he exits the vehicle. The two victims of the incident were identified as 25-year-olds Aneesh Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both software engineers.
Per The Telegraph Online, Koshta was thrown 20 feet into the air and died on the spot. Awadhiya was rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds shortly after.
Ashwini Kostha/NDTVAshwini Koshta, one of the victims in the drunk-driving incident.
One eyewitness described the teen as “driving very fast,” noting that no one had attacked the teen, but rather that they apprehended him and handed him over to the police. Police quickly discovered that the teen was just 17 years and eight months old, making him four months shy of 18, the minimum legal driving age in India. In Maharashtra state, the drinking age is 25.
According to police, the teen was celebrating his exam results, and was speeding along at nearly 125 miles per hour at the time of the incident.
But just 15 hours after the boy was handed over to police, he was released on bail. His lawyer, Prashant Patil, detailed the conditions of his client’s bail, saying “the accused should work with the traffic police of Yerawada for 15 days, accused should write an essay on the accident, should get treatment from the concerned doctor to help him quit drinking, and should take psychiatric counselling and submit the report.”
The judge’s order came as a shock to both police and the general public, who felt the punishment was not severe enough.
Outrage Over Lenient Punishment Causes The Authorities To Change Course
“We will not leave any stone unturned to prove that this is a heinous crime,” said Pune police chief Amitesh Kumar.
Shortly after the boy was released on bail, his father was arrested for allegedly allowing his son to drive, as were three people who had reportedly served the boy alcohol. The Pune police are now asking the juvenile court to overturn the boy’s bail — a sentiment echoed by the families of the victims.
Kumar’s usage of the word “heinous” is also notable for its legal context. As CNN reported, a change was made to India’s juvenile laws in 2015 that allows children above the age of 16 to be tried as adults if they have allegedly committed a “heinous” crime.
“We have adopted the most stringent possible approach, and we shall do whatever is at our command to ensure that the two young lives that were lost get justice, and the accused gets duly punished,” Kumar added.
Criticism has also been levied against Kumar and his department. Shiv Sena, a member of the opposition party in Maharashtra, accused the Pune police of serving the teenager pizza and burgers after the crash, telling the ANI news agency that Kumar “should be suspended. He tried to protect the accused. A young couple was killed and the accused was granted bail within two hours.”
Aneesh Awadhiya/NDTVAneesh Awadhiya (right) with his family.
Sena also said that the teen clearly looked drunk in video taken at the scene, “but his medical report was negative. Who is helping the accused? Who is this police commissioner? He should be removed or the people of Pune will come on the streets.”
The victims’ families are also calling on police to take tougher action against the teenager.
“We want his bail canceled and he should remain in police custody,” said Sachin Bokde, an uncle of one of the victims. “Because of him, an innocent girl, who has seen nothing of life, died.”
India Today also reported that doctors at a nearby hospital had allegedly been bribed by the teen’s family to swap his blood samples and make it seem as if he was not drunk, in an attempt to get him “off the hook.”
Three hospital staffers in total were accused of accepting a bribe in the amount of 50,000 rupees (roughly $600) was also found in the home of one of the doctors. The doctors themselves have not spoken publicly on the matter, though their families have denied their involvement. One staffer from the hospital’s blood testing department is also reportedly on the run.
The investigation is still ongoing, but the outrage continues to spread, with more and more people calling for harsher punishment and changes to India’s drunk-driving laws.
After reading about the drunk driving incident that outraged a nation, read about the enraging crimes of Ethan Couch, the teen who killed four people in a drunk-driving incident. Then, read about Nikki Catsouras, the girl who crashed her Porsche with fatal consequences.
