Exclusive/ Arnab Confronts Pune Top Cop On Ajit Pawar's Phone Calls, Botched-Up Probe in Porsche Crash

New Delhi: With the focus now shifting towards Ajit Pawar's role in the Pune VVIP Porsche crash case, Republic Media Network's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami on Wednesday confronted Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar for the second time, during which the top cop admitted that Pawar had called him on the second day of the incident “seeking an update” on the matter.

"Ajit Pawar didn't speak to me on Day 1. On Day 2, however, all three of them – the Chief Minister and both the Deputy CMs – spoke with me, seeking an update on the matter", Kumar exclusively told Arnab.

The top cop's rather hesitant admission comes even as reports suggest that Ajit Pawar made multiple calls to the Pune CP since the incident.

They had initially enquired about the whole incident because of all the outrage, Kumar further said, while revealing how he was suggested to “immediately go against (challenge) the order of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB)”.

Amitesh Kumar Admits Four People Travelling in Luxury Car

Responding to a question on the number of people that were present in the car at the time of the incident, the top cop, while carefully avoiding revealing any details, admitted that there were four people travelling in the car on the night of the incident.

“There were four people including the primary accused, two other juveniles and the driver”, he said, adding, “The driver was not at the steering wheel, but he was inside the car".

The three co-passengers are being treated as witnesses, Kumar further said. The Pune Police, however, stopped short of recording their statements under Section 164, Republic has learnt.

‘No Disclosure to This Effect’: Kumar on Tingre’s Interference

Responding to a question on NCP MLA Sunil Tingre's alleged interference in the case, Kumar said "there is no disclosure to this effect".

As Arnab asked the top cop whether he was under any pressure to not interrogate Tingre, the CP skirted the question, saying, “There is no role which has been disclosed in the investigation till now about any public representative's involvement”.

Pune CP Skirts Question on Blood Samples

Further during the interaction, the Pune CP also avoided the question on whether he was misled on the blood samples. “The blood sample thing is just a development of day before yesterday”, Kumar said while trying to brush across the question posed to him.

The top cop investigating the case then quickly tried to evade further questions with a pre-constructed response, suggesting the Police “are already deep into the case”, and “will not leave any stone unturned to arrive at a conclusion”.

Notably, the Police Commissioner appeared hesitant over the phone call as Arnab asked him to join the conversation on LIVE TV and answer all the questions surrounding the botched-up probe in the case.

"Give me two to three days", he urged, even as he blamed his "very bad throat" and "complete congestion" for what he claimed was an "improper voice" to be appearing on an interview with.

Arnab Confronts Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar in Pune Porsche Crash | WATCH

Sassoon General Hospital Proposes Suspension of Ajay Taware

Meanwhile, the Sassoon general hospital in Pune has proposed suspension of senior doctor Ajay Taware and sacked another doctor following their arrest for alleged manipulation of blood samples of the juvenile involved in the crash.

Police have arrested Dr Taware, head of the state-run hospital's forensic medicine department, chief medical officer Dr Shrihari Halnor and staff member Atul Ghatkamble for allegedly replacing the blood samples of the 17-year-old with those of another person with no traces of alcohol.

Dr Vinayak Kale, the hospital Dean, told reporters that the administration sent a proposal to the state government to suspend Taware immediately after his arrest, while the services of Dr Halnor, who was employed on temporary basis, were terminated on May 28.

"Action of suspension is taken at the state government's level. A proposal has been sent," news agency PTI quoted him as saying.

As per a letter given to his office by Pune police, the accused doctors allegedly hatched the plan to switch the blood samples for financial gains, Dr Kale said.

"After this action (arrest), we took off the charge of HOD, Forensic Medicine from Dr Taware and gave it to a senior professor in the department. Dr Holnar's service was temporary, and it was terminated on May 28," the Dean reportedly said.

Ghatkamble, who is a conservancy employee, has been suspended, he further said.

Two IT professionals were killed after their motorcycle was hit by a speeding Porsche, allegedly driven by a 17-year-old, in the early hours of May 19 in Pune’s Kalyani Nagar area. 

According to police, the 17-year-old, son of builder Vishal Agarwal, was drunk at the time.  

(With inputs from PTI)