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Sumedha Sharma
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, May 21
Bholu, key accused in Prince murder case, is not the first to be recommended for trial as an adult by the local Justice Juvenile Board (JJB). Following amendments to the Juvenile Justice Act in 2015, the JJB has so far declared trial as adult on 25 juveniles.
“The board has recommended this in over 20 cases, but the Vidyalaya murder case is the most heinous. In many cases, the accused have filed appeals against recommendation of trial as adult. The accused in this case was shrewd enough to evade the law for many days,” said Sushil Tekriwal, counsel for the deceased seven-year-old Prince’s family.
One of the accused in Nirbhaya gangrape-murder case was 17 years old at the time of the crime. He was sentenced to three years in a special home, causing public outrage. This led to the demand for juveniles accused of heinous crime to be tried as adults.
April 4, 2016: The first case to be transferred from the JJB to regular court was of a teen accused in a Mercedes hit-and-run case in Delhi. A business consultant in his thirties was killed while the juvenile got bail within hours.
August 17, 2016: A 17-year-old accused of raping a girl the same age in Delhi was put on trial as an adult. The JJB believed that the crime was meticulously planned. It was the first time a juvenile was tried as adult in a rape case.
March 1, 2017: Two teenagers were awarded life imprisonment for the murder of a 16-year-old by a sessions court in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. They were tried as adults as they had stabbed the victim over Rs 500.
There are various other cases in various stages of progress in Gurugram wherein juvenile accused are being tried as adults.
May 2016: A 17-year-old was booked for unnatural sex with a 12-year-old boy. He served nine months in a juvenile home and was released in 2016. He was nabbed again within days on the charge of raping his 14-year-old sister, who later became pregnant.
June 3, 2016: Three juveniles were nabbed by the Gurugram police on the charge of involvement in murder and robbery in Sector 5. The police reportedly recovered three loaded pistols from them.
November 6, 2016: Two juveniles were arrested in connection with the murder of a 29-year-old man near Guru Dronacharya Metro station.They had reportedly stabbed him to death following a brawl.
June 9, 2017: A 16-year-old was charged with raping his five-year-old neighbour, causing physical and mental trauma to her.
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