Mumbai, November 22: A small clerical mistake made by the Bhoiwada police led to a 14-year-old boy being incarcerated with hardened criminals for three months. Had the mistake not come to the notice of two lawyers recently, the minor could well have spent his life in jail or even faced death penalty.Jeetendra alias Shyam Kumar Varma-Patel, son of Kumar Varma-Patel, a casual labourer, was arrested by Bhoiwada police for murdering the manager of the loom where he was employed, Hemant Kumar Kazi Rajguru, on July 24. The boy was charged under Section 302 of the IPC. However, a mistake occurred here: Jeetendra's age was mentioned as 18 in the report, making him an adult and robbing him of an opportunity to be tried by a juvenile court.
An oversight perhaps, but this small mistake had tragic consequences for Jeetendra. Not only was his bail application rejected by various courts, he was remanded to custody with seasoned criminals.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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