Booked by Bihar cops, 5-year-old faces trial

A five-year-old boy in Bihar is currently making the rounds of a trial court after being booked by the police for possible breach of peace following an attack on a shop that was burnt down. Apart from pity from shocked onlookers, his case has drawn no intervention from the authorities. Booked under Section 107 of the CrPC, a provision applied on a person reasonably believed to be likely to cause disruptions of peace and tranquillity in an area, the boy was at the SDM’s court in southern Arwal on Wednesday. He was to sign a bond before the SDM, Satyendra Kumar, but returned home with his father without doing so because Mr Kumar did not hold court despite the presence of scores of litigants on this pre-appointed court date. The SDM was away attending a meeting chaired by the district magistrate. After an electronics goods shop registered in the boy’s name but run by his uncle in Aganur village under Arwal district’s Kaler police station was attacked and burnt down in May, causing an estimated loss worth '2 lakh, two FIRs were registered by his uncle and his father against each other. The police then imposed Section 107 against the boy, his father and his uncle, said sources. “This is only a nefarious tactic by the police to harass me and my family. My young son has absolutely no role in these incidents,” said Bimalesh Kumar, the boy’s father. Taking note of the insensitivity, Arwal SP Anand Kumar has initiated action by placing the investigating officer (IO) of the case, Umeshwar Paswan, under suspension. “Departmental proceedings are being initiated against him,” he said. The police in Bihar have been notorious for booking minor children in criminal cases.

Junior cops at the police stations often book minor children in criminal cases in apparent efforts to illegally please rivals of the children’s parents.