Pune, 15 July

The Juvenile Justice Board on Tuesday said the 17-year-old boy accused of driving a Porsche car in an inebriated state and mowing down two persons last year in Pune will be tried as a juvenile.

The incident, which hit national headlines, took place in Kalyani Nagar area on 19 May  last year, resulting in the deaths of motorcycle-borne IT professionals Anish Awadhiya and his friend Ashwini Costa.

The Pune police had last year sought that the accused be tried as an adult, saying he committed a "heinous" act as not only were two persons crushed to death but there were also attempts to tamper with the evidence.

On Tuesday, the Juvenile Justice Board rejected the police's plea to treat the accused boy as an adult, as per the defence counsel.

The accused teenager got bail hours after the accident on 19 May last year.

The lenient bail terms, including asking the minor to write a 300-word essay on road safety, triggered a nationwide firestorm, following which he was sent to an observation home in Pune city three days later.

On 25 June, 2024, the Bombay High Court directed that the boy be released immediately, saying the Juvenile Justice Board’s orders remanding him to an observation home were illegal and the law regarding juveniles must be implemented fully.