‘Punish Parents For How They Raised Teen Driving Porsche’: Pune Mishap Victim’s Mother Seeks Strict Action

Mamata Koshta, mother of Ashwini Koshta, one of the two killed in an accident involving a 17-year-old driving a Porsche in Pune on Sunday, sought punishment for his parents “for the way they brought up their child”.

Ashwini’s body was brought to the family’s home in Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur on Tuesday. “The parents [of the accused] should be punished for the way they have brought up their child. There should be legal action to ensure such an incident does not happen again,” she said.

Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh, died as the Porsche hit their bike in Kalyani Nagar area. Police said the teenager was drunk at the time of the mishap.

The Juvenile Justice Board granted bail to the boy hours later, asking him to write an essay on road accidents and help traffic police, drawing criticism from all quarters. His father, a real estate developer, has now been arrested. Three executives of two hotels — Cosie restaurant owner Pralhad Bhutda and manager Sachin Katkar and Hotel Blak manager Sandip Sangle — who served liquor to the juvenile have been arrested.

“We are in shock…It is condemnable that he got bail within 15 hours. His parents and he should be investigated. We will discuss the matter tomorrow once Ashwini’s last rites are completed,” said her uncle Sachin Bokde. Asked if there was a possibility of political pressure in the case, he said it was “quite possible and elections are on anyway”. “We want his bail cancelled and he should remain in police custody. Because of him, an innocent girl, who has seen nothing of life, died,” he added.

Ayodhya Prasad Koshta, another relative, said: “The pubs in the city should be investigated. They were serving alcohol to minors which is illegal. There are several such complaints pending with the police.”

Ashwini’s father, Suresh Kumar, works as an office assistant in the state’s electricity department. One of his sons, Samprit, is a software engineer in Bengaluru. A software engineer, Ashwini had been living in Pune for two years. She was working with Amazon when she first moved to Pune. She had recently joined the Johnson Controls Company.

A case has been registered against the youngster under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. The police have booked the teenager’s father, a real estate developer, under sections 75 and 77 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and the owners and staff members of the bar establishments for serving alcohol to an underage person. The probe in these cases has been transferred to the crime branch, an official said.

Section 75 deals with “willful neglect of a child, or exposing a child to mental or physical illnesses”, while section 77 deals with supplying a child with intoxicating liquor or drugs.

“The timing of pubs is an issue. For the future also, we will ensure that pubs are shut by 1:30 am. We will ensure that nuisance of pubs are taken care of,” said Pune Police commissioner Amitesh Kumar.

With PTI Inputs

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