Real Murderer Is Spoilt Brat’s Father

The biggest blame for a son becoming spoiled lies with the parents and the family.

I am sad, I am in pain, and my heart is crying. I am taken aback, amazed and filled with extreme anger. It is rare for so many emotions to surface all at once in one’s mind! However, the recent incident in Pune is so shocking that it can disturb anyone’s peace of mind. The grief, the agony and the heart-wrenching cries are for two young engineers from Madhya Pradesh, Anish Awadhiya and Ashwini Koshta, who had come to Pune with dreams of building a better future. The anger is directed towards the rich spoiled brat who, in a state of intoxication in the wee hours of May 19, knocked both the engineers dead with his father’s highly expensive car.

I find it astonishing that he was granted bail right after his arrest! Moreover, if you examine the terms of his bail, the juvenile offender will be required to spend 15 days at the intersection alongside the traffic police, assisting in traffic control. Additionally, once familiarised with the traffic regulations, a comprehensive report must be submitted to the Regional Transport Office (RTO). Furthermore, he would have to write a 300-word essay on road accidents and the potential remedies. The minor was advised to undergo treatment and seek help from a de-addiction centre to give up his alcohol addiction. The last condition is that if he witnesses any accident in future, he will have to help the accident victims! The conditions seem like a joke but you can not do anything, for the Juvenile Justice Act is defined like this. I cannot even publicly name the person responsible for the death of two people because the law does not allow it! I believe that if a teenager commits a crime unknowingly, he should be given a chance to reform. However, when a wealthy minor engages in reckless behaviour under the influence of liquor, why should he be treated as a minor? His father Vishal Agarwal himself does not consider his son a minor, allows him to consume liquor with his friends, hands him over a brand new costly car sans number plate knowing well that his son does not have a driving licence. Moreover, he allows his son to stay out of the house even at 2.30 in the night and tries to save him when he knocks two people dead. The brat’s grandfather Surendra Agarwal cajoles and threatens the driver to take the blame and keeps him confined for two days. He puts pressure on the police through people’s representatives. Remarkably, one of the people’s representatives even tried to defend the accused. But all attempts to cover up the incident proved futile, thanks to the alert people and the proactive role of the media, otherwise Vishal Agarwal would have succeeded in protecting his son!

The real question is that if a father does not consider his son and a grandfather does not consider his grandson as a minor, why should he be entitled to legal privileges? Furthermore, Vishal Agarwal’s son exhibited behaviour unbecoming of a minor by consuming different types of alcohol with friends at a bar till well past midnight. Thereafter, he went to another pub and consumed more alcohol. Such actions are not characteristic of a minor. Another question is how did he get entry into two bars (a bar and a pub)? Although the owner of Hotel Cozie Prahlad Bhutada, manager Sachin Katkar, owner of Hotel Black Sandeep Sangle and bar manager Jayesh Bonkar have been arrested after the uproar, this incident once again highlights the fact that regardless of legal regulations, bar owners simply seek to attract drunkards onto their premises. There should be plenty of money in the pocket, alcohol will be available, irrespective of the time! This situation is not unique to liquor shops and bars in Pune or Maharashtra, but rather a common occurrence throughout the country.

The extremely expensive car which Vishal Agarwal’s son was driving at a breakneck speed was not even registered. Generally, the dealer hands over the car to the customer only after the registration is done. The Mumbai dealer had handed over the car to Agarwal without completing the registration process because everyone was submissive to him due to the clout he enjoyed. The question is also whether some policemen gave VIP treatment to the accused? Police is a broad term but I know the efficiency of CP Amitesh Kumar very well. After arresting the father of the accused, the cops arrested his grandfather Surendra Agarwal too. The CP has taken action against two negligent policemen involved in the investigation by suspending them. Both chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have displayed a stern stand on this matter. Surprisingly, this incident in Pune has gained attention even abroad. During the US-Mexico trip, a Cuban asked me why do you try to save such kind of accused? A person from Mexico told me that going by their humanitarian approach, your PM is first and our PM is second, but why are such rules not changed?

It is imperative that we revisit the legislation concerning minors, considering recent tragic events. The brutal assault on Nirbhaya by a minor, the gruesome murder of a minor in a Delhi school and the repeated rape of a minor girl by another minor in Chandigarh are just a few examples of the disturbing trend that needs to be addressed. Each year, cases are registered against over 30,000 minors, with culprits being proven guilty in 90 per cent of instances. Surprisingly, these juvenile delinquents are often not orphaned children, but rather those who reside with their parents. Hence, it is crucial for the parents to nurture and supervise their children properly. They should not allow their sons to become spoiled like Vishal Agarwal. In the Pune incident, the father and grandfather seem to me to be the bigger criminals than the son.

The author is the chairman,  Editorial Board of Lokmat Media and former member of Rajya Sabha.