In the sixth book of Harry Potter, headmaster Albus Dumbledore once told Draco Malfoy that ‘Killing is not so easy as the innocent believe’. Indeed, soldiers of war would testify to that. For many of them, the biggest trauma was not seeing their comrades die, but being forced to kill people they don’t know or have nothing against – an unknown enemy.
The worst among them is killing innocent children. And that’s what a 15-year-old girl from Delhi is guilty of. Yet shockingly, she was completely calm, as she proceeded to strangle her neighbour’s 2-year-old daughter to avenge an insult, said a report in the Times of India.
The baby girl’s mouth was still pink and sticky, stained with the watermelon that had been used to lure her upstairs. A hand clamped around her tender neck and proceeded to strangle until there was no sign of life from the little girl.
The TV volume was turned up to mask the sound and when the neighbour came up stairs to ask the 15-year-old girl if she had seen her missing baby, the teenager calmly replied ‘no’. Without batting an eyelid, she packed the body into her school bag, slung it over her shoulders and walked out amidst all the chaos in the neighbourhood. All of this happened within ten minutes of the child going missing. She hailed an auto, rode to a wooded area near a lake and dumped the body there.
On returning home, the class XI student showered and got back to her books. She had avenged her “insult” and the murder was a closed chapter for her. The body was discovered three days later when the teenager herself sent her brother, who had no knowledge of the murder, to that area on some pretext. Perhaps she wanted him to stumble upon it and get the case moving out of a perverse sense of curiosity. The boy discovered the body and raised alarm.
But the cops suspected her because of her argument with the baby’s mother. And initially, the girl denied it all then, spun a wild story of how a stranger dumped the body at her doorstep and she panicked and disposed the body. More questions brought out the truth while her brother standing nearby, collapsed hearing the account of her brutality.
It’s shocking to think that a mere 15-year-old girl could just calmly murder an innocent baby. But as per our country’s laws and systemic process for juveniles, her trial will come up in two years time when she is 17 years old. She is already in a correctional facility and undergoing counselling. Since sentences for juvenile crimes cannot extend beyond the age of 18, she will be given one year’s time in a juvenile home, and then set free. The murder rap on her record will be completely expunged, as per juvenile justice laws.
Yes, the system exists to protect children, many of whom are often victims to their circumstances. But what about serious charges like murder. The sentence could be lenient, but perhaps having it on record may be necessary to prevent such future crimes on her part.
Whatever it is, this episode once again brings up the whole issue of juvenile justice laws which saw some heated debate after the Nirbhaya rape incident. It will once again bring up the discussion on whether teenagers over a certain age should be treated as juveniles or as adults, especially for such heinous crimes.
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