Teen Killer Could Be First to Be Tried Under New Juvenile Law

A 17-year-old boy, apprehended for strangling an elderly woman, could be the first juvenile to be tried as an adult.

A 17-year-old boy could be the first juvenile to be tried for murder as an adult. (Photo: Reuters)

A 17-year-old boy, apprehended for strangling an elderly woman two months after he was released from a correction home, could be the first juvenile to be tried as an adult under a new law passed by Parliament in December. The Delhi Police has urged the Juvenile Justice Board to treat the boy as an adult as he allegedly murdered the woman just five months after kidnapping and killing a 13-year-old boy for which he was sent to the correction home.

The boy was released from the juvenile home in December last year for his “good behaviour” after his parents applied for bail, saying he had to appear for Class X exams. He was apprehended again on Thursday for killing a woman at South Delhi’s BK Gupta Colony.

If the Juvenile Justice Board accepts the recommendation of the Delhi Police, then the boy will be the first to be tried under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act. The legislation lowering the age of juvenile criminality from 18 to 16 years if the accused are found to be involved in heinous crimes was cleared by the Parliament on 22 December.

The demand for the new law had grown following release of the juvenile convict in the 16 December 2012 gangrape case.

We have submitted a written application to the Juvenile Justice Board, urging them to treat the juvenile, who is around 17 years and 11 months old, like an adult. This teenager could be the first to be tried under the amended Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act.

<b>Senior Police Official</b>

In September 2015, the juvenile, along with his girlfriend, had allegedly abducted and murdered a 13-year-old boy for money which he needed for participating in a popular reality dance show, police said.

His most recent victim, Mithilesh Jain, who had retired from her job at Safdarjung Hospital, is survived by her son who lives in Singapore, a daughter settled in the US, and another daughter who lives with her chartered accountant husband in Delhi.