A house-master and two guards of an observation home in Mehsana have been convicted and sentenced to life for the brutal custodial murder of a 17-year-old Dalit juvenile after his failed attempt to escape in February 2020.
A special Atrocity Court in Mehsana that convicted the three accused also held the state government indirectly responsible for the murder and ordered it to pay Rs 1.50 lakh in compensation to the parents of the deceased for violating his human rights.
“As government-appointed officials have caused the death of the juvenile…by brutally beating him, the government becomes indirectly responsible for the same,” the court recorded in its judgment.The court of Special Atrocity and Additional Sessions Judge C. M. Pavar, in an order dated March 7, also directed the three convicts to pay Rs 2 lakh in penalty.
Apart from murder and allied charges, the three accused — Vishnu Prajapati, Akshay Chaudhary and Kanu Chaudhary — have also been convicted under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the deceased juvenile was a Dalit.
The deceased juvenile was lodged at the Observation Home and Safety Home in Mehsana from where he escaped on February 3, 2020. He was caught by the Naroda police on February 12, 2020 and handed over to the Observation Home the same day.
According to the case, the now convicted staff mercilessly assaulted the minor with wooden and fibre clubs between 10:20 pm on February 12 and 4:00 am on February 13, 2020, following which he died of hemorrhagic shock.
The court stated in its judgment that the assault was recorded by the CCTV cameras installed inside the Observation Home. In reference to the CCTV footage, the court recorded that after beating the juvenile, the convicts had abandoned the latter in a corner on the ground floor. When the juvenile, in extreme pain, crawled to the office seeking help, “one of the convicts kicked him to the corner”.
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The court has also recorded that although it was cold then and the accused were wearing jackets, they only provided a simple white cloth to the juvenile to cover his body. As the juvenile sought water, instead of giving him a glass of water, the convicts were seen pouring water into his mouth from above. The court has also recorded that even though the juvenile was not in a condition to walk in the aftermath of the assault, the three convicts were clearly seen making him walk and kicking him from the behind.
Additional Public Prosecutor Ashok Makwana said that in all, the deceased juvenile had sustained 26 injuries on his body.
Initially, the B division police station of Mehsana town registered a case of accidental death. However, the father of the deceased later lodged a complaint against the officials of the Observation Home after which a case of murder and other charges was registered under various legal provisions, including of the IPC and Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The three accused — Vishnu Prajapati, Akshay Chaudhary and Kanu Chaudhary — have also been convicted under the provisions of the Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the deceased juvenile was a Dalit. The deceased juvenile was lodged at the Observation Home and Safety Home in Mehsana from where he escaped on February 3, 2020. He was caught by the Naroda police on February 12, 2020 and handed over to the Observation Home the same day.
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According to the case, the now convicted staff mercilessly assaulted the minor with wooden and fibre clubs between 10:20 pm on February 12 and 4:00 am on February 13, 2020, following which he died of hemorrhagic shock.
The court stated in its judgment that the assault was recorded by the CCTV cameras installed inside the Observation Home. In reference to the CCTV footage, the court recorded that after beating the juvenile, the convicts had abandoned the latter in a corner on the ground floor. When the juvenile, in extreme pain, crawled to the office seeking help, “one of the convicts kicked him to the corner”.
The court has also recorded that although it was cold then and the accused were wearing jackets, they only provided a simple white cloth to the juvenile to cover his body. As the juvenile sought water, instead of giving him a glass of water, the convicts were seen pouring water into his mouth from above. The court has also recorded that even though the juvenile was not in a condition to walk in the aftermath of the assault, the three convicts were clearly seen making him walk and kicking him from the behind. Additional Public Prosecutor Ashok Makwana said that in all, the deceased juvenile had sustained 26 injuries on his body.
Initially, the B division police station of Mehsana town registered a case of accidental death. However, the father of the deceased later lodged a complaint against the officials of the Observation Home after which a case of murder and other charges was registered under various legal provisions, including of the IPC and Scheduled Castes & Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
