Prominent Pune builder Vishal Agarwal, father of the juvenile who allegedly killed two IT professionals with his speeding Porsche in Kalyani Nagar on May 19, reportedly called Dr Ajay Taware, head of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital's forensic medicine department, 14 times on WhatsApp within two hours, informed the police. Interestingly, the calls were apparently made on WhatsApp to ensure the phone records were clear.
Dr Taware, along with chief medical officer Dr Shrihari Halnor and staff member Atul Ghatkamble, have been arrested for allegedly discarding the minor's blood samples, taken after the accident, and replacing them with samples from another person whose blood contained no traces of alcohol. The police have also recovered a total of ₹3 lakh in the case: ₹2.5 lakh from Dr Halnor and ₹50,000 from Ghatkamble. Officials are probing whether Dr Taware provided the ₹3 lakh from his own pocket or if he had received the money from someone else.
The police have categorically stated that it was Dr Taware's idea to change the blood samples. They are now trying to identify whose blood samples were used to replace the juvenile's samples.
Dr Taware's past is sketchy as well. He was removed twice from his post of medical superintendent, once for his alleged role in the kidney transplant racket involving the Ruby Hall Clinic in 2022 and another time in April this year due to the rat bite incident in the hospital.
Meanwhile, after his arrest, Dr Taware has reportedly issued a stern warning, vowing to "expose everyone" involved and "not sit quietly."
