Over a month after a boy was charged with rioting and arrested by police during the communal violence in north-east Delhi and subsequently sent to Mandoli jail, a Delhi court granted him bail on Friday following results of the bone ossification test confirming he is a minor.
Age contested
The minor’s age was contested at the time of arrest, with his family, residents of Chand Bagh, claiming he was 13 years old. The police, which picked him up on February 25 even as riots convulsed the area, had claimed that the boy said he was 22. Police asked for an ossification test in the court.
The family said the boy, a Class 5 dropout, had gone to look for his 10-year-old brother who they thought was out on the streets when riots broke out. The police charged him with rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on public servant, mischief by fire and damage to public property, among others.
Advocate Abdul Gaffar, appearing for the boy, said that the report stated that he was 15 years old.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Rampuri granted bail to the juvenile. “In view of the tender age of the accused and suspension of work of regular courts and in view of the epidemic situation of coronavirus, accused is granted bail on furnishing a bail bond of ₹10,000 with one surety of like amount,” the court said.
