Pune: Drunk Driver Fired From Job After Being Involved In Accident That Killed Credit Suisse VP Ankur Khandelwal

Mubarak Ansari & Sumit Singh

Kharadi, 10th March 2021: Jovinson James, accused of driving under the influence of alcohol and mowing down Credit Suisse Vice President Ankur Khandelwal, has been terminated by his company ID Medical.

Today ID Medical tweeted, “ID Medical has been working hard to gather all facts on this matter and, following the process and based on the evidence available to us, we have terminated the impugned employee’s employment with our organization, with immediate effect.”

Meanwhile, Chandan Nagar police station, Pune city police, has added section 304a (causing death due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against James, a resident of Akurdi. After the incident, James was arrested on rash and negligent driving charges and was released by a judicial magistrate court within a few hours.

The residents, relatives, and friends of Khandelwal, who was well known in the CA circle, have demanded stringent action against James. They have launched a campaign on social media with the hashtag #justiceforankurkhandelwal

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Pankaj Deshmukh told Punekarnews.in, “We have received a preliminary report from the Sassoon Hospital stating that the accused was under the influence of alcohol. His blood sample has been sent to the forensic laboratory for chemical analysis. After getting the report, we will decide about adding section 304(2) (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), which is non-bailable and punishable with imprisonment for ten years or life imprisonment. We will take legal opinion and add the section.”

According to police, the incident took place around 12.20 am on 7th March. Ankur, his wife, and their nine-year-old son, residents of Kumar Primrose society in Kharadi, had gone to see off a friend’s family. “We were standing on the footpath when a speeding red car came from Ganga Constella’s side and hit my husband. The driver James was drunk”, states the complaint lodged by Ankur’s wife, Roshni Khandelwal (35). She sustained injuries on her fingers in the incident.

Police said that Ankur had got sandwiched between the car and the retaining wall of Kumar Primrose society. The impact was such that the wall shattered. Ankur was immediately rushed to Columbia Asia hospital, where he succumbed to the grievous injuries all over his body.