Ranchi court orders fresh trial in Sapphire student murder case

Ranchi: Additional judicial commissioner (AJC) K M Prasad on Monday set aside the order of the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) which acquitted two minors in the murder case of a private school student, Vinay Mahto, in 2016. The court asked the JJB to conduct a retrial of the case.
Vinay, a Class VII student of Sapphire International School, Ranchi was found injured on the school premises on February 5, 2016. He was rushed to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims), where he was declared brought dead.
Police had suspected the involvement of four persons, including a teacher of the school, her husband, their daughter and son, in the murder. Policemen familiar with the case said that the Class VII student was killed for having a crush on the teacher’s daughter, who was a year junior to him in school. The teacher’s son, who was in Class XI at the time, allegedly invited Vinay for dinner and then asked him to end the friendship with his sister. Vinay was reportedly beaten up when he refused. The teacher’s daughter was detained for her alleged role in trying to hide the crime.
The JJB in its judgment delivered on March 8, 2018, acquitted the minors for lack of evidence.
The state had appealed against the verdict with the plea that all witnesses were not examined. Additional public prosecutor A K Ray said, “The AJC set aside the JJB’s judgment and ordered a retrial in the case.”