Following a legal conflict whether Ayush Bhatt an accused in the Adnan Patrawala murder case was a minor during the time of offence,a Sessions Court in Mumbai has asked for a medical inquiry to be conducted to examine the authenticity of a bone ossification test that stated that Bhatt could have been under 18 years. The prosecution had furnished Bhatts school-leaving certificate,which said he was 19 in August 2007 when the murder was committed,to buttress the charges. However,Bhatt claimed that he was a minor then and his case should be tried by a juvenile court. The ossification report,though it did not give a clear age,was in favour of Bhatt as it inconclusively stated that Bhatt could be anywhere between 17-19 years when the murder took place. A group of four youngsters Sujit Nair,Rajeev Dharaiya,Amit Kaushal and Ayush Bhat had allegedly kidnapped and killed Adnan Patrawala,the 16-year-old son of an Andheri businessman,in August 2007. Adnan,a college student,had gone missing on August 18,when he had taken his fathers car,a Skoda,and left for an undisclosed location after receiving a call from a friend. The father had later received a call demanding a ransom of Rs 2 crore,failing which the caller threatened to kill Adnan. Adnans body was found abandoned in the car on Palm Beach Road the next day.
