Thane: Juvenile told to do community service, fined Rs 10,000 for 5-year-old's rape, murder

BHIWANDI: A juvenile justice board here fined a 13-year-old boy, found guilty in a rape and murder case of a five-year-old girl, Rs 10,000. The incident occurred last year on the night of Diwali. The court on Thursday found the minor guilty for raping and killing his cousin, after taking her to an isolated place near her house. The minor pleaded guilty before the board.
The incident came to light after the parents searched for the girl but found her body at an isolated place. DCP Rajkumar Shinde from Bhiwandi zone of Thane police had formed teams, including police inspector Sanjay Sable, who, within 24 hours of registering a case, detained the minor, who later confessed to the crimes. The child was sent to a remand home.
H Y Kawale, principal magistrate, juvenile justice board (Bhiwandi), on Thursday found the minor guilty and imposed the fine. The principal magistrate observed that the offence was "heinous". The principal magistrate said merely imposing a fine would not suffice, so it directed the child to perform community service to give him a sense of responsibility and duties towards society. The child was held guilty under sections 363 (kidnapping), 364 (kidnapping to commit murder), 376 (rape), 302 (murder) of IPC and sections 4 (pentrative sexual assault), 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault), 8 (punishment for sexual assault) and 12 (punishment for sexual harassment) of POCSO Act.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)