Mumbai: Dad of dead girl seeks tests on minor accused

Mumbai: The father of a three-year-old girl, who was recently allegedly abducted for ransom and then strangled by her minor male neighbour and his friend — also a minor — in Nagapada, has filed an application for conducting preliminary assessment with regard to the mental and physical capacity of the accused. The applicant sought the assessment to be done as per the 2015 amendment to the Juvenile Justice Act under which an accused more than 16 years of age can be tried like an adult at a sessions court in serious crimes, instead of by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB).

After hearing the application, the court reserved its order till January 10. The JJ Marg police on December 24 had arrested the two minor accused, one of them aged 17 years and eight months and the other 16 years and four months, for kidnapping and then murdering Junera Khan. Junera had gone missing from outside her house on December 5. Her father, Mumtaz Khan, filed the application before the JJB at Dongri via his advocate Shivraj Kunchge. Both the accused are students of a junior college in South Mumbai.

“As per amendments made after Nirbhaya’s case, minor accused above 16 years of age in cases of serious nature like murder, rape etc, could be tried as an adult and considering seriousness of the crime the family of the victim wants the accused to be tried as adults and hence I have moved this application before the JJB,” said Mr Kunchge.