Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has criticised the Juvenile Justice Board's decision to show leniency toward a Porsche owner's teenage son who, under the influence of alcohol, fatally knocked down two people in Pune.
In a video posted on X, also called Twitter, Rahul asked if similar leniency will be shown toward truck or taxi drivers, who are held guilty of involuntary manslaughter.
"If bus drivers, truck drivers or drivers of Ola, Uber and auto kill someone by mistake they are sent to jail for 10 years and the license is rescinded. But if a rich guy's 16-17-year-old son drives a Porsche under the influence of alcohol and kills two people, he is told to write an essay. Why don't you tell the bus driver or truck driver or Ola, uber, or auto drivers to write an essay?" Rahul said in his video.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expressed shock and surprise over the Juvenile Justice Board's ruling. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, visited the Pune Police commissioner to review the case. Addressing the media after meeting police commissioner Amitesh Kumar and other officials, Fadnavis said the police have approached the higher court seeking permission to try the juvenile, who was granted bail, as an adult.
According to the police report, the drunk teenager rammed into a bike at Kalyani Nagar junction. Anis Awadhiya and Ashwini Costa, both 24-year-old IT professionals and hailing from Madhya Pradesh, were killed in the accident.