When a powerful bomb blast at German Bakery claimed 17 lives on February 13, 2010, the Pune police and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of state police came under attack for allowing crucial evidence to get washed away due to water sprayed by the fire brigade and getting trampled by VVIPs visiting the scene of terror. The situation that prevailed in the first few crucial hours on January 25 when ST bus driver Santosh Mane mowed down several people under his bus which he drove recklessly across the city during peak morning hours proves that the Pune police have yet not learnt its lesson.
Within minutes after the bomb explosion at German Bakery on February 13, 2010, a mad rush of VVIPs was witnessed at the crime scene and the police did nothing to stop VVIPs from entering the premises along with hordes of supporters allowing them to trample the evidence and making it difficult for investigating agencies to probe the case. Moreover, to add to the woes of the investigating agencies, the fire brigade extensively used water to douse the fire that broke out after the blast which is suspected to have resulted in washing away some of the crucial evidence.
A similar situation prevailed on January 25 this year when Santosh Mane, the killer driver of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC), went berserk and drove a hijacked state transport bus on crowded city roads in a maddening fury mowing down pedestrians and vehicles killing eight people.
After Mane’s horrifying road rage, hordes of onlookers gathered at the accident scenes and tampered with the evidence. An autorickshaw hit by Mane’s bus on Sinhagad Road was moved from the spot to the roadside even before the panchnama could be prepared.
Speaking to the DNA, senior lawyer Ujwal Nikam, who has successfully represented the prosecution in several high profile crimes including a number of terror attacks and bomb blasts, says, “To collect the evidence is a very important step during investigation. When the case is resting on circumstantial evidence, then it is necessary to collect the circumstantial evidence to prove the guilt of the accused. Most of the clinching circumstantial evidence can be available from the place of offence but unfortunately, immediately after any major incident, people including VIPs, rush to the spot and important evidence gets destroyed.’’
He said, “Hence, when the blast occurs, the investigation agencies have to find out what material is used for the blast and whether it resembles with the material of the earlier blasts.’’
However, police commissioner Meeran Chadha Borwankar said, “It is not correct that the police do not learn. Every crisis is different and so are the first respondents. We are constantly upgrading our skills. Instead of criticising us, citizens should help us to improve our performance. Every constable is a leader and he/she is the one who reaches the spot of incident first. We have to work on their training and development. They are doing their best,’’ she added.
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