E-Paper
A four-year old allegedly killed by minors for a mobile phone in Bengal
A number of serious crimes in recent months have seen involvement of juveniles in Bengal. In November last year, two minor pavement dwellers were sexually assaulted allegedly by two minor boys and a man in south Kolkata. In December, three minor were held among people arrested for pelting stones at a train and making videos during anti Citizenship (Amendment) Act protests in Bengal.
A four-year-old West Bengal boy was allegedly murdered by two juvenile boys from his village because they wanted the mobile phone the kid was playing with.
Two minors were held in Cooch Behar district for the crime after the child’s body was found inside a sack dumped in a bamboo grove not far from his house on Wednesday morning, a day after he had gone missing while playing with a mobile phone. The body’s discovery led to tension in the area.
Both accused,14-years of age, were interrogated for hours by Sitalkuchi police before their detention. They will be produced before the district juvenile justice board on Thursday morning.
“The incident triggered tension in the area. The police had a tough time managing the crowd. As a result, the FIR was registered after 5 pm. At night, the arrested boys will be kept in a child-friendly corner, especially built-in police stations for cases like these,” said Gita Acharjee, member of the district juvenile justice board.
A number of serious crimes in recent months have seen involvement of juveniles in Bengal.
On November 29, two minor pavement dwellers were sexually assaulted allegedly by two minor boys and a man in south Kolkata. The boys were nabbed while the man absconded.
On July 7 last year, a 15-year-old boy in Bengal’s Farakka was held for allegedly raping a four-year-old girl.
In December, five people were arrested in Murshidabad district for pelting stones at a train and making videos, when violent protests against Citizenship (Amendment) Act were being held in the state. Three of the accused were minors.
