HYDERABAD: For the first time in India, a court on Thursday sentenced a minor to rigorous life imprisonment.
The sentence was awarded to the 17-year-old for kidnapping, raping and murdering an 11-year-old boy in Hyderabad.
The crime was committed in 2017 on the terrace of a government school, and the victim’s body was found after a 10-day search. Incidentally, the judgement came exactly two years after the horrific incident, which took place on June 28, 2017.
The crime had sent shock waves across the city as the 11-year-old went missing for over 10 days after he stepped out of his house in the morning to play with his friends.
His father tried searching for him the whole day and reached out to the police the following day.
During the investigation, the police chanced upon crucial CCTV footage - from Badi Masjid in Barkas - in which the boy was seen with the accused.
The police then apprehended the accused and he admitted to the crime and directed them to the place where he committed the offence.
The teen took the child to the Government Boys High School in Barkas after promising him a view of the area as the young boy was fond of pigeons.
However, the child was raped and killed there, officials said, adding that the accused tortured him by twisting and tying his hands and legs with a piece of cloth. He was beaten on the head with an iron rod, resulting in his death.
The rod and the victim’s footwear were left beside a water tank on the terrace.
The police registered a case under Sections 364, 377, 302, and 201 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act for kidnapping, unnatural sex, murder, the disappearance of evidence, and aggravated penetrative sexual assault.
The case was initially taken up by the Juvenile Justice Board but transferred to the Children’s Court at Bharosa Center in Hyderabad as the accused was found fit to be tried as an adult.
The child-friendly court at Hyderabad’s Bharosa Center found the accused guilty and took Section 21 of the JJ Act into consideration while pronouncing its judgement. “In view of Section 21 of the JJ Act, it is very clear that a child in conflict with the law can be sentenced to more than three years,” the judgement read.