Day after the police claimed that the suspect in the Jammu grenade attack case—detained from the winter capital yesterday—is a juvenile, a juvenile justice panel Friday demanded custody of the boy.
Justice Hasnain Masoodi, chairperson of theselection-cum-oversight committee (SCOC), the apex body for monitoring andevaluation of the Juvenile Justice Act, said, “The juvenile should be handedover to the Juvenile Justice Board Jammu at the earliest.”
“Disclosing identity of the juvenile is against the JuvenileJustice Act and the juvenile justice board concerned should take cognisance ofthe matter,” he told Greater Kashmir.
On Thursday, a grenade was hurled at Jammu bus stand inwhich two persons were killed and 31 others injured.
According to IGP Jammu, who held a press conference afterclaiming to have cracked the case, said, “Based on the oral testimony of thewitnesses and the CCTV footages, the police were able to identify a suspect whowas wearing a jeans jacket and carrying a red rucksack.”
The police also named the minor.
According to the Juvenile Justice Act, “As soon as ajuvenile in conflict with law is apprehended by the police, he shall be placedunder the charge of the special juvenile police unit or the designated policeofficer who shall produce the juvenile before the board without any loss oftime, but within a period of 24 hours of his apprehension, excluding the timenecessary for the journey, from the place where the juvenile was apprehended,to the board.”
The Act further says, “Provided that in no case, a juvenilein conflict with law shall be placed in a police lock-up or lodged in a jail.”
As far as disclosing the identity of the juvenile isconcerned, the Act says: “No report in any newspaper, magazine, newssheet orvisual media of any inquiry regarding a juvenile in conflict with law or achild in need of care and protection under the Act shall the name, address orschool or any other particulars calculated to lead to the identification of thejuvenile or child nor shall any picture of any such juvenile or child bepublished.”
The child right activists have also registered theirprotests against the violation of the juvenile justice Act.
Nodal officer for Juvenile Justice Board Jammu and KashmirKhair-un-Nisa, said, “The Juvenile Justice Board Kulgam investigated the matterand have got certificate from the minor’s school that says that he was born in2006.”
However, IGP Jammu Manish Kumar, said, “As of now we haven’t given the custody of the juvenile to the Juvenile Justice Board Jammu because we are ascertaining whether he is a minor or not. We have asked for his records from Kulgam.”
Shafaq Shah