Juveniles detained for Bhondsi violence deny involvement

Some juvenile accused said that they were picked up while they were playing, while others said they were just bystanders at the scene of the incident, and were rounded up by the police. If the Juvenile Justice Board finds the juveniles in conflict with the law innocent, action will be taken against the policemen who apprehended them.

Juveniles, apprehended for Wednesday’s violence, have denied any involvement in the protests, lawyers for the juveniles said on Thursday.

The juveniles were produced before principal magistrate Davender Singh at JJ Board on Thursday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The police on Wednesday apprehended eight juveniles on multiple charges, including attempt to murder, rioting, snatching, damaging government property and preventing government employees from discharging their duty.

The youngest accused is 14 years old while the eldest juvenile accused is 17.

They were produced before the Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday and sent to an observation home in Faridabad.

The boys were apprehended for torching and damaging buses, both government-run and private, on Wednesday.

A group of 50 to 60 miscreants had attacked a school bus of GD Goenka World School, Sohna Road, on Wednesday around 2.30pm. There were 23 students and three teachers in the bus when the miscreants pelted stone on the windows and broke the windshield of the bus. The accused also attacked a Haryana roadways bus, that was carrying some 35 passengers, and set it on fire.

However, the juveniles denied their involvement in any such incident. In fact, some said that they were picked up while they were playing, while others said they were just bystanders at the scene of the incident, and were rounded up by the police.

The juveniles were produced before principal magistrate Davender Singh at Juvenile Justice Board on Thursday. They were sent to the observation home in Faridabad under 14 day judicial custody.

Singh interacted with the juveniles in connection with their alleged involvement in the violence and contempt of Supreme Court’s order vis-à-vis release of the movie Padmaavat. All the juveniles told the Juvenile Justice Board that they are innocent and were being falsely implicated.

Rahul Chauhan, counsel of the juveniles, said, “The juveniles played no role in the violence. The police have apprehended them to show their numbers, and are under pressure. There is no evidence against them which can prove their involvement. They were apprehended while they were playing; returning from a factory or were at the spot to see what was going on.”

The counsel also alleged that some sections, under which the police has charged them, are irrelevant as there was no incident of snatching involving any weapon.

On the other hand, Bhondsi station house officer Umesh Kumar said, “These juveniles were arrested from the spot and they had snatched mobile phones of the bus driver and the conductor. The juveniles had threatened the driver and conducter with dire consequences and were even shouting slogans.”

If the Juvenile Justice Board finds the juveniles in conflict with the law innocent, action will be taken against the policemen who apprehended them.