Pune Porsche Crash Case: Opposition Up In Arms Over Appointment Of Dr Pallavi Saple As Head Of Probe Panel

The Maharashtra government has set up a three-member committee following the arrest of two doctors and an employee of state-run Sassoon General Hospital in connection with the alleged manipulation of the blood sample of the juvenile involved in the Pune Porsche crash case.

Medical Education Commissioner Rajiv Nivatkar on Monday issued the order appointing the dean of Grant Medical College and JJ group of hospitals, Dr Pallavi Saple, as the chairperson of the committee. The other members are Dr Gajanan Chavan, professor of the forensic medicine department of Grant Medical College, and Dr Sudhir Chowdhary, Special Duty Officer at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Government Medical College and Super Speciality Hospital.

Meanwhile, Opposition leaders are up in arms over the appointment of Dr Saple, who is facing corruption charges.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Deputy Leader Sushma Andhare slammed the state government's probe panel, saying that the chairperson Dr Pallavi Saple is herself "buried in a cloud of corruption" and that she must be removed. "She is facing many corruption charges. The allegations were leveled by Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) MLA Yamini Jadhav. The government must answer what action has been taken against her," demanded Andhare.

Leader of Opposition (Council) Ambadas Danve said that the probe panel is not acceptable and reiterated the demand for a judicial probe into the Porsche crash. "The government must first answer what happened to the allegations against Dr Saple. Appointing such officials proves that the government is still not serious about the Pune issue. If such officials are appointed, one can tell right now what will come out at the end of the investigation. There is no need for the drama of an investigation," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

When asked about the charges against her, Dr Saple declined to comment, saying that she had been appointed by the government. Regarding the Porsche case, she said that the panel would inquire into all aspects and submit its report to the government, though she did not indicate a time frame.