New Delhi: The Hyderabad Police wants to try as adults five under-aged boys accused in the gangrape of a 17-year-old girl in the Jubilee Hills area on 28 May.
This is permitted in the case of “heinous crimes” – or those felonies that can be punished with seven or more years in jail.
Of the six arrested in the rape case, five are minors – three of whom are the relatives of powerful politicians, the police have said. The adult boy is already in their custody.
For the minors, the police will request the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) – which is holding them — to recommend trial as adults. This is to ensure maximum punishment for the culprits and not the three years in jail that juveniles are given under the present law.
Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, C. V. Anand said the request to JJB would be made once all evidence was collected against the accused.
If tried as adults, the punishment would be jail for life till death or even the death penalty, the police said. The case would also be tried in a special court.
Since all the minors are above 16, the JJB will now evaluate if they were mentally and physically capable of committing this offence. The Board will also assess if the boys understood the consequences of such an offence.
If tried as adults and convicted, the minors will be kept in a juvenile home till they are 21 and then shifted to a regular prison.
A local court on Wednesday granted police the custody of the adult accused, but the police sought custody of the five minors as well.
The police have said that five of the six arrested were involved in the actual rape, while a minor boy misbehaved with her.
At the face of stringent criticism by opposition parties, the Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali said while the government was taking steps, parents too should keep a watch on their children “in view of the changing times and the advent of social media”.
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