Two doctors of the Sassoon General Hospital being taken into police custody after their arrest for alleged manipulation of blood samples and destruction of evidence in the case of a car accident involving a 17-year-old boy, in Pune.
Credit: PTI Photo
Pune: Blood samples of not only the 17-year-old minor involved in the Kalyani Nagar Porsche crash but those of the two friends accompanying him were also replaced at the government-run Sassoon hospital here so as to establish that they were not drunk, the prosecution said on Thursday.
The sessions court is hearing the bail applications of six accused in the case, namely, the minor's parents Vishal Agarwal and Shivani Agarwal; Sassoon hospital's Dr Ajay Taware and Dr Shreehari Halnor, and alleged middlemen Ashpak Makandar and Amar Gaikwad.
The minor driver himself has been released from the observation home following a High Court order.
Continuing his arguments opposing the bail pleas, special prosecutor Shishir Hiray said that Dr Halnor, despite knowing the consequences and having good knowledge of forensic medicine and medico-legal aspects, replaced the samples of the 17-year-old who was driving the car, and those of his two friends, hours after the accident.
He did it on the instructions of the Agarwals and Dr Taware, and received Rs 2.5 lakh for it, the prosecutor told additional sessions judge U M Mudholkar.
A man and a woman, both 24 years old and IT professionals, were killed when the Porsche allegedly driven by the Agarwals' son hit their motorbike in the early hours of May 19.
Citing the statement of a trainee (resident) doctor, the prosecutor said she was asked to collect blood samples of Shivani Agarwal. As per the police, the minor's blood samples were replaced with those of his mother.
In the case of his two friends, the plan was to use the blood samples of their respective mothers as a substitute in the same way, the prosecutor said, citing the statement of another resident doctor.
But it could not be done, because in one case the son and mother did not share the blood group while the other boy's mother said she had consumed 30 ml of alcohol herself. Therefore, samples of two other men were used to swap these two boys' blood samples, the prosecutor told the court.
The trainee doctors were instructed to use dry cotton instead of cotton dipped in alcohol (spirit) to avoid possible alcohol contamination, the prosecutor said.
Dr Halnor did not allow any subordinate to prepare the notes but did it himself, he said.
The prosecutor also cited the statement of another resident doctor, to whom Dr Halnor allegedly handed over the Rs 2.5 lakh in cash he had received.
"Dr Halnor came to his hostel at B J Medical College on May 23 and told him he had received some money through Dr Taware, and since he had no cupboard in his hostel room, requested him to keep it in his cupboard. When the friend asked him what did he receive the money for, Dr Halnor said he will explain it later and he had done nothing wrong," advocate Hiray said.
As per an eye-witness at the accident site, a mob gathered and dragged the minor driver out of the car after the crash. The minor could not even stand properly at this point, indicating that he was drunk heavily, the prosecutor said.
But the preliminary medical report prepared by Dr Halnor only a few hours later gave a negative finding on alcohol consumption, he pointed out.
Hiray, who was assisted by advocate Sarthi Pansare, will continue his arguments on Monday.