Age mix-up sees minor jailed for 20 days in murder case

Koraput: A minor accused in a murder case in Nabarangpur district was allegedly lodged in the sub-jail for 20 days after being treated as an adult due to incorrect age details in official records.The incident occurred under Maidalpur police limits in the district where the minor, though entitled to be kept in a juvenile home, was sent to judicial custody at the Nabarangpur sub-jail from Feb 24 to March 16. The issue came to light during a routine jail inspection by the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA).According to jail superintendent Debendra Thati, the minor was shifted to a child care institution in Bhawanipatna following orders from the Juvenile Justice Board after his family submitted his school certificate as proof of age.Sources said the murder took place on Feb 22 in a village under Maidalpur police station, reportedly triggered by past enmity and an argument following comments over the victim purchasing a new vehicle. On Feb 23, police arrested seven members of the minor’s family along with three others and forwarded them to court, which remanded them in judicial custody. The minor was among those arrested.Police had reportedly relied on a school admission register showing the year of birth as 2004, leading them to treat the accused as an adult. However, during the DLSA visit on March 5, the minor revealed that he was born in 2009 and is currently 17 years old. This prompted authorities to verify his age.Following instructions from the district judge, the family produced the correct school certificate before the Juvenile Justice Board, after which the minor was transferred to the juvenile home in Bhawanipatna.Maidalpur police IIC Yugala Kishore Sabar said the discrepancy may have occurred due to an error in recording the birth year in school documents, possibly writing 2004 instead of 2009.Legal experts have raised serious concerns over the lapse. Government counsel Jhadeswar Khadanga said police must have proper documentary proof before forwarding an accused to court. “A hasty investigation led to a minor being treated as an adult and spending 20 days in jail unnecessarily,” he said, adding that accountability must be fixed.