The underage accused were sent to prisons as cops failed to ascertain their age at the time of arrest
Cuttack: Two minor boys, accused in two separate cases of murder, were sent to jail instead of juvenile observation homes due to police officials’ failure to ascertain their actual age. As a result, one of the minor boys had spent at least 15 years in jail while the other had faced nine months of imprisonment.
Malgodown police in the city had arrested a minor boy and two others in connection with the murder of a youth near Jobra barrage November 28, 2002. At the time of his arrest, sources said, the boy was 17 years, 5 months and 18 days old. However, police had mistakenly declared the boy as an adult and charged him as the main accused in the case. Consequently, he was convicted by a lower court which awarded life imprisonment.
The boy had challenged the lower court verdict in the Orissa High Court. Just a couple of months ago, a lawyer who represents the boy in the HC came to know about his real age while going through the case file. The boy is a 32-year-old man now. He was released from jail in September this year, after spending 15 years in jail due to the age blunder. Now, the Juvenile Justice Board is probing the incident, sources added.
Similarly, Cuttack Sadar police had arrested a boy of Bada Dhuleswar village on charges of drowning a minor boy in June last year. The boy, aged 16 years and two months at the time of his arrest, was sent to Choudwar circle jail, sources said.
Juvenile Justice Board member Mandakini Jema and legal probation officer of district child protection unit Bimal Laxmi Choudhury had come across the minor boy while visiting Choudwar jail in March this year. Jema and Choudhury had visited the boy’s native village and collected documents regarding his real age. Recently, the boy has been released from jail and sent to a juvenile observation home at Angul.
Human rights activists and intellectuals have blamed the police for sending the two minor boys to jail.
City Deputy Commissioner of Police Akhileswar Singh, however, said investigating officers usually face a lot of difficulties in getting information on youths involved in criminal activities in the city. “It is not easy to collect the address, age and other details of these youths. As a result, there could be some mistakes in ascertaining the age of some accused,” Singh said.
Director General of Police RP Sharma said he has asked police officials to be extra careful while mentioning the age of an accused in the charge-sheet.
Jema and Choudhury, meanwhile, expressed apprehension that some more minor boys, accused in some criminal cases, may have been lodged in jails due to age blunders. “People should come up and tell police regarding the actual age of youths whenever they come across similar incidents,” said the duo.
Advocate Akhaya Swain has suggested that police should opt for ossification test to ascertain the age of accused whenever there is a doubt. “In such cases, police should produce the accused before Juvenile Justice Board and obtain permission for the ossification and other medical tests,” he said.
Police goof up: House raided by mistake
Cuttack: The police here seem to have learnt nothing from their past mistake and repeated the goof of raiding a ‘wrong’ house once again.
The Sadar police here Friday afternoon raided the residence of a social activist, Sukanta Sethi, after mistaking him with Sukanti Sethi. The goof by the police comes close on the heels of arrest of an innocent man by Madhupatna police, in a case of mistaken identity.
After the raid by the police, the social activist met deputy commissioner of police (DCP) Akhileswar Singh in the evening and alleged that the police action has damaged his reputation. Acting on the complaint, Singh has directed the Sadar inspector-in-charge to inquire into the matter and submit a report.
According to sources, the activist lives in Balikuda area in Sadar police limits. A constable and other staffs of the Sadar police station reached his house at 1.30pm and inquired about him. As Sethi was away, the officials asked his wife to send him to the police station as soon as he came home.
The activist’s wife was frightened by the police action. She wanted to know from the police why they were asking her husband to go to the police station as he had done nothing wrong.
Later it was revealed that a man from Ganeshghat area in Purighat police limits had lodged a complaint against Sukanti Sethi of Balikuda over a land dispute. Subsequently, Purighat police contacted Sadar police and requested them to summon Sukanti. However, the Sadar police moved to the house of Sukanta Sethi instead of Sukanti Sethi.
“The police visit to my house has damaged my reputation. My elderly parents have also suffered a shock due to the police action,” the activist alleged.
The activist wondered whether the police did it on a purpose. “The matter should be probed whether the police did this intentionally to harass the innocent people,” the activist said.
When contacted, DCP Singh confirmed that he has ordered a probe into the matter.
In a similar incident earlier, Madhupatna police had arrested Bharat Kumar Barik of Palasudha village in Jagatsinghpur district after mistaking him with Bharat Bhusan Barik alias Sandeep of Alasudha village. Sandeep was involved in a bomb hurling incident at Netajinagar area in Madhupatna police limits. However, the police did not arrest the actual accused and arrested Bharat Kumar Barik and sent him to jail. The victim was released on bail and subsequently has moved the Orissa Human Rights Court seeking justice.
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