Pune Porsche crash: No to mob justice

The tragedy of what happened in the early hours of May 19 in Kalyani Nagar, Pune, is stark. Two lives were lost when a car, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old, crashed into a bike. Aneesh Awadhiya, who was driving the bike, and Ashwini Koshta, who was riding pillion, died on the spot. Reports that the minor who was driving was under the influence of alcohol when he lost control of the car and that he was subsequently let off on bail under the condition that he “work with traffic police of Yerwada for 15 days” and “write an essay on the accident”, have provoked loud outrage. The juvenile has now been remanded to an observation home till June 5. Going ahead, in this case, as in others, it is necessary to follow due process. But care must be taken to insulate it, not only from any undue influence that may be exercised on behalf of the accused, but also, on the other hand, from the calls for mob justice.

Since that Sunday morning, questions have been raised, among others, about the local MLA visiting the police station where the teenager was taken, after he received a call from the latter’s father. Accusing fingers are being pointed, too, at a two-hour delay in taking a blood sample from the accused. These concerns invoke the juvenile’s privileged background — his father is a prominent realtor and the car he was driving is a Porsche — and suggest that this could lead to a miscarriage of justice. They should certainly be addressed. Yet, the furore must not become a pretext to short-circuit a thorough investigation or to paper over the fact that the accused is a 17-year-old.

Even as the law takes its course in this case, the larger complicities that it has pointed to must not be ignored. The police have booked the father for allowing his minor son to consume alcohol and drive while intoxicated. They have also sealed the two restaurants that served alcohol to the teenager and arrested three people connected to the establishments. A country, where over 50 per cent of the population is under the age of 25, must ask how it can be better prepared to cope with the problem of underage drinking and driving. Any solution can only emerge from a wider, and more open conversation that includes those who run bars, pubs and other businesses that sell alcohol, as well as young people and their parents. Even as accountability is fixed for the deaths in Pune, the incident must also lead to the setting up of more guardrails.