Killer Porsche was on streets without registration since March

PUNE: Investigation into the car crash that killed two software engineers in Pune around 2.30am Sunday revealed that the Porsche Taycan driven by the 17-year-old son of a prominent builder had been operating without registration since March. The owner had purchased the electric luxury sports sedan, priced between Rs 1.61 crore and Rs 2.44 crore in India, but didn’t pay the necessary registration fees to the regional transport office (RTO), officials confirmed Monday.

“The car was booked through a dealer in Bengaluru, which provided a temporary registration before delivering it to the owner in March this year. It was the responsibility of the owner to get it registered. The vehicle came to Pune RTO and an inspection was done. However, the owner didn’t pay the fee required for the registration. Since the fee was not paid, we couldn’t provide a registration number,” Pune regional transport officer Sanjiv Bhor told TOI.

Aneesh Awadhia and Ashwini Koshta, both 24 and from Madhya Pradesh, were killed in the accident near a pub when the Porsche Taycan struck their bike from behind, dragging Koshta for 50ft, according to police. The underage driver was detained and the Juvenile Justice Board released him later with conditions. Police have charged the father for allowing the juvenile to drive.

According to the rules, the registration process for new vehicles must be completed by dealers, who are then responsible for affixing high-security registration plates (HSRP) with the number on the vehicle.

“If the dealer is from outside the state, a temporary registration number is issued, and the vehicle must be taken to the local RTO in the home state to obtain the registration number. Within Maharashtra, no temporary registration is needed,” Bhor said.
An RTO officer admitted that there are vehicles in Pune operating without a registration number.
Vehicles registered after April 2019 must have an HSRP.