The police said he was detained in 2021 for trying to commit a theft at a Mulund bank. “He was addicted to drugs and committed the crime to fund his addiction. Almost a month after a 16-year-old specially-abled boy was beaten to death inside a children’s home in Mumbai, two more 16-year-old boys have been booked by the police, taking the number of persons against whom an FIR of murder has been lodged to six.
The police said that one of the four previously booked boys, who they initially believed was 17 years of age, is not a minor. With his school leaving certificate showing that he is in fact 21 years old, he was arrested last week.
Meanwhile, the police have booked two more minors. After seven eyewitnesses told the court that they were involved in the alleged murder, the two 16-year-olds boys were detained last Friday and sent to a remand home. “We believe that one of those two boys is an adult. We are trying to verify his age and once it’s confirmed, he shall also be arrested,” said an officer.
The deceased was lodged at the children’s home on August 6 after he was found loitering in the streets. As per protocol, he was sent to the home, where he was lodged in the Covid-19 isolation room along with 23 other new inmates for 14 days.
The police said that on August 16, the boy defecated inside the room and started playing with it. As the room started smelling, the six boys allegedly manhandled him. The minor was declared brought dead at a hospital.
The police came to know about the sequence of events after scrutinising CCTV camera footages. A case of murder was registered and the four boys were presented before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC), which sent them to a remand home. “The CWC had instructed us to verify their age,” the officer said. During inquiry, the police came to know that the 17 year old accused is in fact 21 years of age. The police said both the parents of the accused, a Class IV dropout, are dead. “When we approached his school, we came to know that his birth date is January 11, 2001,” said the officer. The police then took his custody from the remand home and arrested him. Following this, he was sent to judicial custody by the court.
The police said he was detained in 2021 for trying to commit a theft at a Mulund bank. “He was addicted to drugs and committed the crime to fund his addiction. After he completed his punishment, the remand home consulted an NGO, which works in the deaddiction field, and sent him there… He underwent counselling for 17 months,” said the officer.
He was subsequently transferred to the children’s home in the first week of August and while he was completing his 14-day quarantine period, he, along with the other inmates, he killed the boy, the officer added. “He had also committed a theft in 2019. He had stolen some scrap along with other boys to buy drugs. He was detained and lodged in a remand home,” said the officer.
A seventh person has also been booked in the case but on charges of negligence. He was the security guard, who was responsible for taking care of the minors lodged at the Covid-19 isolation room in the facility.