School papers show rape accused juvenile

Documents provided by a government primary school in Badaun district where the youngest accused in the Delhi bus gangrape case once studied show him to be a juvenile.

The current principal of the school as well as its assistant principal at the time the juvenile took admission deposed before the Juvenile Justice Board here Tuesday. The school records provided by them showed his date of birth as June 4, 1995, making him 17 years and 6 months at the time of the December 16 gangrape.

The board issued a production warrant for the accused for January 28, which is the next date of hearing. It will pronounce then if it is satisfied with the documents given by the school or wants an ossification test to determine his age.

The principal and the former assistant principal reached the juvenile board around 2 pm. The former official placed before the board the school leaving certificate and admission files of the accused. The school leaving certificate mentioned his date of birth.

"In our village, parents bring their children to the school and tell us their approximate age. There are no documents like birth certificate. We note the age down if it seems believable. In this case also, the mother said he was '1995 born'," the former assistant principal told reporters.

If the accused is determined to be a major, he will be chargesheeted along with the others in the case and could face murder charges.

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