'Aneesh Cremated 52 Hrs After Death, Killer Let Out in 15': Pune Victim's Family

Aneesh Awdhiya was one of the two people killed after being hit by a Porsche in Pune being driven by a minor.

At about 3:00 am on Sunday, 19 May, Savita Awadhiya woke up to a call on her mobile phone while she was sleeping at her home in Madhya Pradesh's Umaria district. On the other side was a friend of her elder son Aneesh calling from Pune, whose name she could not clearly hear.

"He told us that Aneesh had met with an accident and we must come to Pune immediately. At first, I thought it was a prank. But then I thought his friends wouldn't play a prank like that. I called back on the same number and his friend again said the same thing, he said that Aneesh is serious. That's when the ground beneath my feet slipped," Savita said.

The family immediately set out for Pune by car. Little did they know that the Aneesh's death would become national news by next morning.

In the wee hours of 19 May, a luxury Porsche being driven by a 17-year-old allegedly under the influence of alcohol was way above the speed limit in Pune's Kalyani Nagar area. The car hit Aneesh's bike and immediately killed him and his female friend Ashwini Costa who was riding pillion.

Aneesh and Ashwini, both IT professionals working in Pune, were out with their friends for dinner. CCTV visuals captured just moments before the accident shows the car sweeping across the street in Pune, and then the bystanders rushing towards it.

What made the accident national news, though, was the fact that the accused, a minor, was granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board on the condition of 'writing an essay' on accidents, in about 15 hours after the mishap.

As national outrage peaks and the debate on whether the minor accused should be charged as an adult rages on, the Awadhiya family asks — "Where's the justice in these laws?"

'Didn't Know It Would Be the Last Call'

Aneesh moved to Pune to study engineering right after class 12. He was working with a firm for the past two years and had visited his family back home just earlier in May.

"We last saw him on 4 May when he had come home to visit me for my wedding anniversary. He later went to Dubai for a work trip from where he got us gifts. He said he would bring them home the next time he visits," said Savita, narrating her last meeting with Aneesh.

The last call Savita had with Aneesh, though, remained incomplete.

"We had spoken two days before the accident. I was at a market. He said 'hello maate,' he would call me maate fondly. I told him I will call him back after going home. But I could not. I could not talk to him the next day either, he would usually be busy with meetings when he was in office. That call was my last conversation with him, I did not know it would be the last," Savita said.

Aneesh's father Om Awdhiya runs a printing press, while he himself had taken the responsibility of funding his younger brother's BTech education.

"Aneesh wanted to do MTech but his younger brother had just finished class 12 and got into engineering. He knew his family's financial situation would not allow both expenses, so he first wanted to let his brother finish his BTech before himself getting further education. He had taken full responsibility of his brother," Dyanendra Soni, Aneesh's maternal uncle said.

Underage Accused Served Alcohol at 2 Restaurants Before Accident

According to the FIR filed in the Yerwada police station, the accused, along with 10-12 friends went to a Cosie restaurant in Pune's Mundwa area to celebrate the results of his class 12 exams.

While the legal drinking age in Maharashtra is 25, the group was allegedly served alcohol at the restaurant despite being underage. After leaving the place at midnight, the accused and his friends went to another restaurant called Black where they allegedly consumed more alcohol.

While managers and owners of both restaurants have been booked for serving alcohol to the minors without verifying their age, the accused's father, a realtor from Pune, has been arrested for allowing possession of his vehicle to his minor son and allowing him to drive without having a driving license.

The father was arrested from Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar (formerly Aurangabad) on Tuesday and remanded to two days of police custody.

Following outrage, the Juvenile Justice Board modified its earlier order to revoke the accused's bail and sent him to a remand home till 5 June.

'How Can He Be Tried As a Minor After Taking Two Lives?'

Aneesh's family, however, demands that the accused be tried as an adult.

"He belongs to an influential family, so he was let off. They have money, so can they just be let off? But my son is dead. I just hope my son gets the justice that he deserves. I hope the accused gets the strictest possible punishment," Savita said.

"He is being called a minor but he was drinking, he belonged to a high-profile family, he was driving a high-profile car, he was not bothered who else is on the streets, and then he rammed into and killed two people with his car. What's his punishment? Writing an essay and doing community service? What kind of justice is this?" Soni asked.

The Pune police on Monday said it will move a higher court for trying the accused as an adult.

"We have lost what we had to, no amount of justice will seem like justice. You think for yourself — my nephew was cremated 52 hours after his death, but this boy was out of prison in 15 hours. What kind of law is this? We cannot begin to tell you how that felt," Soni said.

(With inputs from Alim Sheikh.)