Pune Police Surrender Custody of Accused in Porsche Crash Case Amid New Evidence
Pune, 8th June 2024: On Friday, the city police surrendered the custody of Amar Santosh Gaikwad (27) to a special court. Gaikwad is one of two men accused of bribing doctors to alter the blood alcohol report of a 17-year-old driver involved in a fatal crash. The police returned Gaikwad to judicial custody while reserving the right to seek his remand as needed during the investigation.
Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sunil Tambe informed the court that new evidence had emerged in the May 19 crash case, prompting the decision to surrender Gaikwad’s custody. Gaikwad and Ashfaque Basha Makandar, both residents of Yerawada and Dhanori respectively, were arrested on June 4. They allegedly acted as intermediaries for the driver’s father, a prominent builder, facilitating bribes to manipulate official reports.
“We have sent the digital video recorder of the hospital’s CCTV cameras and the call detail records of mobile phones to the forensic science laboratory (FSL). We will seek Gaikwad’s remand again after receiving the FSL report to confront him with the new evidence,” ACP Tambe stated.
Gaikwad and Makandar had been working as commission agents for the teenager’s father, assisting him in selling flats over the past six months.
Earlier, the police produced Dr. Ajay Taware, former head of the hospital’s forensic science department, Dr. Shrihari Halnor, former casualty medical officer, and Atul Ghatamble, a former mortuary staffer, before Special Judge V. R. Kachare. The three were arrested on May 27 and had been in police custody until their court appearance.
With the prosecution not requesting additional time for questioning, the court remanded the trio to 14 days of judicial custody. Gaikwad and Makandar were also sent to Yerawada Central Jail. Both of them also work for MLA Sunil Tingre.
The case stems from a fatal incident on May 19, when a high-end Porsche Taycan, allegedly driven by the 17-year-old, crashed into a motorcycle at Kalyaninagar around 2:30 AM, resulting in the deaths of two IT engineers.
