‘Is this PM's beti bachao beti padhao?' 2 years on, hope for justice fades for Pune Porsche case victims' families

TWo years on, the desire for justness is fading for families of the victims in the Pune Porsche caseful in which 2 IT professionals missed their lives in the Maharashtra city after being fatally hit by a luxury car which was allegedly being driven by a 17-year-old boy under the influence of alcohol.Victims of the incident that took place in Kalyani Nagar area on May 19, 2024 were identified as Ashwini Koshta and Anish Awadhiya.Ashwini's mother Mamata Koshta, expressing despair over the probe, said it feels like the law is only for common public and not for the powerful. “It's been two years, but nothing has happened... We are awaiting justice and those who killed by daughter are out on bail.” “It is extremely painful... My daughter is no more. Those monsters are yet to be punished. They are roaming freely. It feels like the law is only strict for ordinary people, while influential people can escape punishment easily. But normal people like us don’t get heard at all,” she said, speaking to PTI news agency.The Supreme Court in March this year granted bail to the father of the minor alleged to have been driving the Porsche car under the influence of alcohol.A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and Ujjal Bhuyan granted bail to minor's father, one of Pune’s most prominent builders, who is accused of hatching a conspiracy to swap blood samples of the minor to ensure the occupants of the car get a 'Nil Alcohol' report."We are forced to keep faith somehow, because there is no other hope left that we will ever get justice. At the very least, the hearing should have started by now. We had even applied for a fast-track hearing, but nothing has happened regarding that either," said Ashwini's mother on Tuesday.Ashwini's father Suresh Koshta said, "Today, two full years have passed. But we still have not received justice. Instead, those people who were in jail have now been granted freedom. The judiciary granted them bail saying that since the trial had not begun yet and the charges had still not been framed, they could not be kept in jail for so long. So, they were released on bail.‘Is this beti bachao beti padhao’Ashwini's father said the accused will roam freely while they are the ones suffering endlessly and even raised a question for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, citing his ‘beti bachao beti padhao’ goal.“Now they will roam around freely and comfortably while the case continues. But we are the ones suffering endlessly, as if we are being punished for some crime. What wrong did we do? Prime Minister Modi talks about ‘save the daughter, educate the daughter.’ He talks about empowering girls and bringing 33 per cent reservation for women. But when daughters step out of their homes, families like ours work day and night, shedding blood and sweat to earn money, educate them, and send them outside with dreams for their future,” Suresh Koshta said. "And then the spoiled children of wealthy people crush them under their cars. Even after saying so much, after pleading so many times, after approaching everyone possible, the court proceedings have not even properly begun till today. The charges have still not been framed even after all this time,” he added.Family of victim Anish Awadhiya also expressed similar sentiments over the course of trial in the case.His mother Savita Awadhiya said, “The system there is completely flawed because, one by one, everyone is getting bail. It has been almost two years, and my son still has not received justice. All the people who were inside [jail] are gradually being granted bail. It feels as if he [father of the minor accused] had influenced people with money earlier, and perhaps even now he may have influenced the new judge…"“Our demand was that since the accident was caused by a minor, a law should be made so that people learn not to give vehicles to underage children or allow them such freedom,” he said.When a child is drinking heavily in pubs and driving an expensive car, the parents are also responsible because they allowed it, he said, questioning calling a child minor after such incidents.A law should be made so people understand they should not allow their children to behave this way, he added.