E-Paper
Infuriated over defeat in games, minor boy kills girl in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore
The murder was allegedly committed by smashing the head of the girl with a stone in a vacant plot of land near the housing complex, where the victim and the alleged minor offender lived
A boy allegedly killed a girl, who lived in his neighbourhood in Indore, located 188 kilometres south-west of Madhya Pradesh’s capital Bhopal, on Monday afternoon, because she would consistently beat him in games, including those played on mobile phones, and also killed his pet mouse a few days ago.
Also read: 17-year-old boy in Kolkata kills 14-year-old friend in scuffle
The minor has been detained under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.
The murder was allegedly committed by smashing the head of the girl with a stone in a vacant plot of land near the housing complex, where the victim and the alleged minor offender lived, said police.
The girl studied in class 5 and belonged to a middle class family. The boy is a student of class 6. He, too, belongs to a middle class family. Both the families are neighbours and live in apartments of a housing society under the jurisdiction of Lasudia police station in Indore.
Deputy inspector-general (DIG) of police, Indore, Harinarayanchari Mishra, said, “Preliminary investigation has revealed that the girl went out of her flat to collect flowers on Monday afternoon. She didn’t return for a considerable period of time. Her anxious father went out of his flat to look for her and spotted her body. Her head was smashed and hidden under a stone.”
He said, “The boy was taken into custody after a police team spoke with several children in the housing complex and the neighbourhood and also examined the CCTV (closed circuit TV) footage of the complex. The girl was last seen with him. A boy told the police team that he had seen the boy returning and he had blood stains in his hands and clothes. The boy confessed to having committed the crime during interrogation.”
The DIG added, “The boy told the police that the girl was her friend but he was angry with her because she would consistently beat him in games, including those played on mobile phones. She also allegedly killed his pet mouse a few days ago. This further infuriated him and he killed her to take revenge.”
The victim’s elder sister said, “We can’t believe that the boy killed her over such petty issues. Police should investigate the murder as adult persons could be involved in the crime.”
Dr Vinay Mishra, a Bhopal-based psychologist, said, “Defeat in games or killing of a pet mouse might not have been a significant reason to provoke the boy. Such children suffer from a conduct disorder. They display strange behaviour at an early age while deriving pleasure from hurting animals and setting things on fire. They have a strong desire to destroy things. Usually, they are poor in studies and that’s not because of their low intelligence quotient (IQ). They don’t like discipline in schools.”
He added, “The conscience, which tells us what is right and what is wrong, is not fully developed in such children. Even after destroying things, hurting animals and indulging in unlawful activities they don’t repent it. They don’t feel that they have committed anything wrong.”
