Srinagar, June 26: For the past few weeks, the police had been badly looking for a “stone-pelting kingpin” accused of being the “frontrunner” during protests in Shahr-e-Khaas area of the City. The only clue cops had about the accused was his nickname: Vairedaath (meaning a deadly incident in vernacular). Acting on a tip off, the police Friday succeeded to nab him. But the “most wanted man” turned out to be a 13-year-old boy whose revelations surprised the police more than his age.

THE TRAP
 Yesterday morning, the police said, it got a clue that Vairedaath was roaming in Safa Kadal area and heading to eat Momos before going for stone pelting.
 The police activated its network and the accused was caught eating his favorite snacks near a partially closed shop. The boy donning a torn T-shirt and ragged trousers was bundled in a Gypsy and whisked away to Safa Kadal Police Station.
 In no time some top cops were informed about the catch and they rushed to the police station.

THE QUESTIONING
 The team found the kid sitting in the corner of the lockup, hand-folded. The team, as per the Thana insiders, started questioning:
 “Are you Vairedaath?” questioned a senior official.
 “Yes, Sir this my nickname but I really dislike it….my real name is XXX(name withheld)…. Please forgive me I will never throw rocks again,” the boy begged.
 Since how long and how many times have you pelted stones? “Aaaaa around 50-60 times,” Vairedaath replied adding he started it last year.
 On this an official asked why he pelts stones. “I don’t know. I just started it and then got used to it,” the boy replied.
 A senior police official said during the questioning the boy turned out to be a “innocent stone pelter.”
 “He(Vaireedaath) pleaded innocence saying that his bad company was responsible for his faults. But then he didn’t even know the meaning of bad company,” the official said.
 “When I asked him about bad company he replied it means being associated with stone pelters,” the official explained.

POOR CHAP
 His being an orphan and hailing from a poor family turned out to be the reasons of being in ragged clothes.
 The boy is brother of six sisters, the youngest of whom is yet to be married. The duo lives with their ailing mother at their Mirjanpora residence.
 Vairedaath is a school dropout who left education in 3rd standard.
 “Teachers there would beat me and so I hated going to school and finally one fine day I left studies forever,” the boy told the SHO.
 The teenager works as a cleaner at a City shop.
 “But he calls himself a salesman and doesn’t even know that one who only dusts and mops a shop isn’t a salesman,” said an official.

JUVENILE SMOKER
 Vairedaath is a smoker. A Four Square cigarette pack was the only thing recovered from his pocket by the SHO Farooq Ahmad.
 Vairedaath had no money with him. Not even money to buy Momos. A friend had offered him his favorite snacks.

THANA SILENT
 The concerned Thana police declined to comment on Vairedaath saying “better contact the SSP sahib or the SP sahib.”

SP SPEAKS REHABILITATION
 The SP north Showkat Shah confirmed that Vairedaath was in the custody.
 “He is a very careless boy whose tender age is being exploited by those who instigate him,” the SP told Greater Kashmir.
 Given his age, the SP the accused was “too small to be booked.”
 “We want him be rehabilitated or else his careless nature may make him turn into a criminal,” he said.

GUARDIANS AWAITED
 But as for now, Vairedaath’s release is awaited only because nobody has turned up looking for him.
 “We’ll release him the moment his guardians come and assure his rehabilitation,” a Thana official said.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 26 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 27 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST