By Sumedha Mittal / News Laundry
Four minors in Nuh, who were booked for serious offences linked to the recent communal violence, spent time in police custody in alleged violation of Juvenile Justice Act norms.
Three of them were transferred to juvenile observation homes only after orders from separate courts, where they were earlier presented as adults by the police. The fourth suspect was declared a juvenile on Thursday but, at the time of publishing this report, was yet to be transferred to an observation home from adult jail.
Under the law, only a special juvenile unit should detain a minor suspect or at least be given immediate custody in case the arrest is made by a regular police unit. A minor suspect must be kept in an observation home before being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board within 24 hours of arrest. There must be no use of handcuffs or force, and parents of the suspect must be immediately informed after arrest.
However, according to the families of these four minors, the police allegedly arrested the suspects without due verification, thrashed them and kept them in custody. A 17-year-old from Rajasthan’s Bharatpur and a 16-year-old from Nuh spent at least 11 days in jail. And two 17-year-olds from Nuh spent three and four days each in police custody.
Let’s take a look at the cases.
This story was originally published in newslaundry.com. Read the full story here