Pune crash: Doctor, teen's father exchanged 14 calls before sample switch

Porsche crash updates: The police said that it was the doctor's idea to switch the blood sample of the minor to show that no traces of alcohol were found in his body during the crash

The ongoing probe into the Pune Porsche crash has revealed that the doctor, arrested for allegedly switching the blood samples of the accused minor, exchanged 14 calls with the boy's father. Dr Ajay Taware, the head of the hospital's forensic medicine department, exchanged calls with the minor's father two hours before the sample collection.

The police, seeking Taware's remand, told a court on Tuesday that the government doctor first thought the blood samples could be swapped. Both the accused driver's father and Taware have been arrested in connection with the accident in which two people lost their lives in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area on May 19.

The doctor is accused of taking a Rs 3 lakh bribe in exchange for switching the samples to show that no traces of alcohol were found in the minor's body when the accident happened. Besides Taware, the hospital's chief medical officer, Dr Shrihari Halnor and staff member Atul Ghatkamble have also been arrested.

"Our focus is on two things: identifying whose blood samples were used to replace the juvenile's samples and determining the financial gain received or promised to Dr Taware. It has come to light that Dr Halnor, the CMO at the casualty section, and the third accused, Ghatkamble, received a total of Rs 3 lakh from Dr Taware to change the blood samples," a senior police officer said.

Taware faced action for alleged kidney racket in 2022

Notably, the latest allegations against Taware have spotlighted his past alleged scandal involving a kidney racket. According to a report by the Hindustan Times, in April 2022, Taware was directed to step down as the medical superintendent of Sassoon General Hospital (SGH) over alleged malpractice in the kidney transplant procedure.

He was later reinstated on the recommendation of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Sunil Tingre, the report said.

As the investigation continues, more shocking details are coming to light, exposing a web of power-politics-money nexus operating behind the scenes. The case has sparked widespread public outrage, with many people believing that the administration protected the accused minor because of his wealthy background.

Notably, two members of the Juvenile Justice Board are also under the scanner for their role in granting bail to the minor 15 hours after the accident, with unusually lenient bail conditions.

(With PTI inputs)