Boy 145;surgeon146; surrenders, gets bail

Dhileepan Raj, the Standard X boy who allegedly conducted a Caesarian section, assisted by his doctor parents, surrendered this afternoon before the Juvenile Justice Board in Tiruchy.

Dhileepan Raj, the Standard X boy who allegedly conducted a Caesarian section, assisted by his doctor parents, surrendered this afternoon before the Juvenile Justice Board in Tiruchy. He was later set free on bail. The police had been on the lookout for the 15-year-old, who had been absconding since his parents8217; arrest on June 25.

Tiruchy Superintendent of Police N Rajasekaran said the boy surrendered before the Board at around 3.30 pm on Wednesday and was detained in the observation home. However, boy8217;s advocate S Venkatasubramanian filed a petition for bail under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act. 8220;He has been granted bail by the Juvenile Justice Board,8221; the advocate told The Indian Express a couple of hours later.

Meanwhile, Rajasekaran said an affidavit would be filed in the court seeking to question the boy for a couple of days with regard to allegations that he had performed the surgery with the help of his parents 8212; Dr K Murugesan and Dr Gandhimathy 8212; at their family-run clinic in Manapparai near Tiruchy.

Cases have been registered against the boy and his parents under various sections of the IPC. On June 29, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court denied anticipatory bail to Dhileepan Raj, saying he need not fear torture at the hands of the police in case he is arrested and could seek appropriate remedy provided under Section 12 of the Juvenile Justice Act.

Under the Act, a juvenile arrested for any criminal offence should be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board, which should release him on bail with or without sureties. The Board can refuse bail only if it feels the release will bring the juvenile in contact with criminals, expose him or her to moral, physical or psychological danger or will not meet the ends of justice.

The police acted on a complaint by members of the Indian Medical Association, Manapparai branch, that Dr Murugesan had presented a video film at a meeting in May showing Dhileepan Raj performing a Caesarian section and filed cases against him, his wife and son. A three-member committee of doctors has now been constituted to scan all surgeries conducted at Dr Murugesan8217;s hospital in a bid to find out if Dhileepan had been involved in performing any of them. Dr Murugesan had claimed in an interview to a Tamil journal that his son had been performing the surgeries since he was in standard VII.