The Delhi Police apprehended two of the juveniles in connection with the case but they were released by the Juvenile Justice Board after their parents signed an ‘undertaking’.Nearly two weeks after an 11-year-old boy was allegedly sexually assaulted by three minors in Northeast Delhi, the police said he succumbed to the injuries at the Lok Nayak hospital on Saturday morning.
The Delhi Police apprehended two of the juveniles in connection with the case but they were released by the Juvenile Justice Board after their parents signed an ‘undertaking’. The accused, aged 12 and 13, have been temporarily released on grounds of age and insufficient medical evidence in the case.
A senior doctor at the government hospital on Friday told The Indian Express, “The chances of survival seem thin. He has developed septicemia and his intestines are perforated. Yesterday, he suffered a cardiac arrest.”
Delhi Commission for Women chairperson Swati Maliwal said, “The child is no longer with us. He suffered a lot and fought till his last breath. His killers must be punished…” The Delhi Police also confirmed the death.
The boy’s mother, a domestic worker, said the boy died around 6.30 am at the ICU. According to the family, the boy was sexually assaulted, hit with bricks, and pushed from the terrace of a house. They said the boy suffered from kidney failure, body infection, and internal blood clots. The incident that occurred on September 18-19 came to light after the boy fell sick on September 22 and confided in his mother.
“We have suffered a lot. My son is gone and his killers are out. I want justice for him. These boys harassed my son for days. He was scared to speak the truth. They threatened to kill him. I am helpless,” said the mother.
According to the police, the juveniles were released after the authorities carefully assessed the case and the background. “The accused are juveniles under 16. One of them has asthma and the other comes from a broken home. They will be asked to join the investigation once the victim regains consciousness,” a source had said.
DCP Sanjay Sain, DCP (Northeast), had earlier said that police approached the family, but they allegedly gave a statement only on September 24. “After extensive counselling, the mother of the child disclosed that the boy was physically assaulted and sodomised by the three. A case was immediately registered under sections of the sodomy and the POCSO Act. Two of the juveniles were apprehended and sent to the JJB,” said Sain.