Gurgaon ‘killer’ teen sexually assaulted minor girl, say cops

GURGAON: A boy held for the murder of his nine-year-old neighbour over an apparent theft bid at an affordable housing society in Sector 107 on July 1 had allegedly sexually assaulted the girl before strangling her with a scarf and setting the body on fire in her house.
Charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act were added to the case - the first to be registered under the newly implemented BNS in the city - after the boy made new revelations before Juvenile Justice Board counsellors on the last day of his remand on Thursday."While there was no confirmation of penetrative assault by the teen, he claimed to have touched the minor inappropriately," ACP Naveen Sharma, investigating officer in the case, said.
The teenager had earlier said he went to his neighbour's flat in an adjacent building to steal jewellery as he was under pressure to repay a Rs 20,000 loan he had taken from a friend for gambling. He also claimed he did not go to the house with the intention to kill the girl but had panicked when things didn't work out the way he wanted.
"Today, he told counsellors that once he reached the girl's house, he asked her to get him a glass of water. He touched her inappropriately while taking the glass, but soon asked for another glass. While the girl was in the kitchen, the boy found the keys to the cupboard, being well-versed with the house, and took the jewellery. The boy said when the girl saw what he was doing and started to scream, he tried to shut her up. He strangled her with a scarf as she would not stop screaming," the ACP said.
Police said the teenager used crushed camphor to burn the body, which he apparently learnt from a Hindi crime serial.
He had also identified some shops where he was planning to sell the stolen jewellery, the ACP said.
The boy, who was just a day short of his 16th birthday when he committed the crime, does not come under the purview of Juvenile Justice Act provisions that allow a minor offender to be treated as an adult in heinous crimes because the age bracket for it is 16-18.
"He stole bicycles and money to settle gambling debts earlier. He even tried to run away from home once when his father scolded him for performing poorly in school," a police officer said.
The boy was sent to JJB's custody in Faridabad on Thursday. The board is set to hear the case on July 17.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)