JJB allows police to take three minors for evidence collection in Kerala murder case

A Juvenile Justice Board in Alappuzha permitted police to take three minor boys, suspected in the murder of a 67-year-old man at Karuvatta, for evidence collection. The decision relied on BNSS provisions as the Juvenile Justice Act lacks specific procedures for minors

Alappuzha (Keralam): A Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) on Monday permitted the police to take three minor boys, suspected of carrying out the murder of an elderly man at Karuvatta here last month, for evidence collection in the case.

The JJB passed the order on a plea moved by the prosecution, senior additional public prosecutor (APP) Manu Kallampally said. The APP said that there was no provision in the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Act to hand over minors in conflict with the law to the police for evidence collection.

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However, in the instant case, the JJB passed the order on the basis of provisions in the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) as the special act — JJ Act — was silent on how evidence collection can be carried out in the case of minors.

The APP said that all the four suspects, including a 13-year-old girl who allegedly played a key role in the murder of the elderly man who was her relative, in the case were minors and therefore, without questioning them or taking them for evidence collection, it would be difficult to complete the investigation.

Therefore, the Board decided to follow the procedure provided under the BNSS, the prosecutor said. He said that the Board permitted “escorted movement” of the minor boys, aged around 16 and 17 years, for evidence collection.

The APP also said that a lea is pending before the JJB seeking permission to question the minor girl. The girl, an eighth-standard student, was a close relative of the victim, Sivankutty (67), who was killed at his home in Karuvatta. Investigators suspect the teenagers had planned to steal gold and money from the house, with the proceeds intended for purchases, including a high-end mobile phone and a motorbike.

According to the police, Sivankutty was found dead inside his house on August 17 morning. His wife and daughter were away at a hospital at the time of the incident, leaving him alone at home, police had said.

According to the police, the three teenagers, including the boyfriend of the accused girl from Paravur, had allegedly entered through a space near a ventilator at the rear of the house and the victim was allegedly killed during a scuffle that followed.

Police said that the investigation established that the boyfriend made a video call to the 13-year-old girl during the assault and showed her the killing. They also allegedly stole the gold kept in the house, they said.