Pune valet attendant death case: No bail for driver; 'he drove vehicle in drunk condition', says court

Pune, Jan 19 (PTI) A local court has rejected the bail plea of a 47-year-old man who allegedly rammed his car into a valet attendant in November last year, resulting in his death, noting the accused was prima facie heavily drunk and drove his vehicle despite knowing that he was not in a position to do so.

Additional Sessions Judge P R Choudhary observed that the accused, Pratap Daingude (47), took the wheel, ignoring the advice of the restaurant staff.

Daingude, a BPO employee, had visited a restaurant in Kalyaninagar area in a drunken condition and consumed beer there, police said.

According to the prosecution, Daingude behaved inappropriately with other patrons, following which the restaurant management asked him to leave. The staff also advised him to take a cab instead of driving as he was heavily drunk, but he ignored the suggestion.

While taking his car out of the parking lot, Daingude allegedly lost control of the vehicle and rammed it into the parking counter, killing valet attendant Satyendra Mandal on the spot, police said.

In his bail plea, the accused claimed he had not committed any offence and was falsely implicated, also denying that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.

Seeking bail, his lawyer argued that the investigation in the case was complete and contended that Daingude should be tried under section 106 (death caused by rash and negligent driving) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder).

Opposing the plea, the assistant public prosecutor said the offence was serious in nature.

Advocate Angad Gill, representing the restaurant- the original complainant in the case- submitted that it was premature to decide whether the offence would fall under section 105 or 106 of the BNS, a matter that would be determined during trial.

"An innocent person has lost his life due to the acts of the accused. The punishment under section 105 of the BNS extends up to 10 years. The investigation is not complete, and the chargesheet is yet to be filed," he told the court.

Additional Sessions Judge P R Choudhary, while rejecting the bail plea, noted that the FIR indicated the accused was heavily drunk at the time of the incident.

"He was advised by the restaurant staff that he would not be able to drive. Despite having knowledge that he was not in a position to drive, he drove the vehicle and caused the death of the deceased," the court observed. PTI SPK NSK