Bone test of key accused revealshe is not minor

New Delhi: In a new twist in the Ghaziabad madrasa rape case, the crime branch team revealed that the main accused in the case is not a minor. On Tuesday, the bone ossification test report of an accused, who is being held in connection with the rape of a 10-year-old girl inside a madarsa in Ghaziabad, has indicated that he is a major.

The report was submitted to the Juvenile Justice Board on Tuesday and the matter has been listed for hearing on Wednesday, said a senior police officer. A bone ossification test was carried out on the accused since his family had failed to submit documents that could help the police to ascertain if he was below 18 years of age.

According to another police official, the probe team also allegedly found an Aadhaar card belonging to the accused in which his date of birth has been mentioned as 1998.

“The test report indicates that he is a major,” the officer said. Earlier this week, the police had also arrested Ghulam Shahid, the madarsa cleric, for allegedly being aware of the presence of the girl in the premises.

The girl’s father informed the police that she had gone missing from Ghazipur in East Delhi after she went to the market on April 21. Subsequently, the girl was rescued from the madarsa on April 22 by a Delhi police team and the “juvenile” was apprehended, the police said.

The victim had recorded her statement in front of a magistrate on April 23.