Pune: The Pune Police's Crime Branch has arrested SK Agarwal, grandfather of the rich brat involved in the Pune hit-and-run that claimed lives of two software engineers on Sunday. 

According to media reports, SK Agarwal is accused of 'forcing' driver to 'accept' he was driving the luxury car when the accident took place. The grandfather of the minor accused was arrested for alleged “wrongful confinement” of their family driver, an official said on Saturday. The teenager's father Vishal Agarwal, who is in judicial custody in connection with the car accident, has also been named in this case, he said. 

The teen had on Sunday knocked down two bike-borne software engineers by his Porsche car in the Kalyani Nagar area in Pune. He was allegedly drunk at the time of the crash. Several glaring lapses have come to the fore drawing nationwide scrutiny of the police handling of the case.

Attempt to Frame Driver: Police

A day earlier, Pune CP Amitesh Kumar had said that an attempt was made to establish that the high-end car was not driven by the minor. On a complaint by the family driver of the juvenile, the Yerawada police have registered a separate offence against the teen's grandfather and father, he said. The two have been booked under IPC sections 365 (kidnapping with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person) and 368 (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement), he said.

Pune CP Amitesh Kumar said, “The grandfather of the minor accused has been arrested by the Crime Branch unit of Pune Police. A separate FIR has been registered against him under IPC 365 and 368.”

A former MP had also claimed that the teen, who is the son of a prominent city-based builder, was given “preferential treatment by cops who served him pizza and burger at the Yerwada police station”.

Initially, the Juvenile board had granted bail to the minor accused but later review its decision and sent him to remand home till June 5 after a nationwide outrage over the deaths and calls for justice. 

Grandfather's Links With Underworld

In a shocking revelation, Pune Police had earlier confirmed that the teen's family was linked with the underworld, especially with gangster Chhota Rajan. SK Agarwal had been implicated in a high-profile murder case involving the underworld. 

As per police sources, SK Agarwal is one of the accused in the assassination of Ajay Bhosale, a prominent local corporator in Pune, who was gunned down in 2009. The investigation has revealed that Chhota Rajan’s shooters were hired to carry out the hit on Bhosale. Both SK Agarwal and Chhota Rajan are accused in this case, which is currently under the investigation of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).