The Delhi Police is contemplating to book the juvenile convicted in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case under the National Security Act. The convict will be released in December after the completion of his three years in the correctional home. According to reports, senior Delhi police officials met with some senior lawyers to seek an opinion on the issue. If booked under the National Security Act, his detention can stretch for one year.
An Intelligence Bureau report had also previously stated that the teenager who is now 21 had been radicalised by one of the suspects of the 2011 Delhi High Court blast and was being motivated for jihad.
The convict, who was below 18 at the time of the horrific crime, was sentenced to three years in a reform home. The punishment was seen by many as disproportionate to the enormity of the offence and spurred demands for changes in the law to try teenagers involved in serious crimes as adults. Four other convicts have been sentenced to death and a fifth was found dead in prison.
Worried about a possible backlash after the convict’s release, the Home Ministry has asked for the opinion of the Delhi Police.
Parents of the gangrape victim had also earlier approached the National Human Rights Commission, to seek for a stay on his release.
An NHRC statement stated, “Parents have stated that the juvenile, who was largely responsible for the death of their daughter and was the most brutal amongst all the offenders, is supposed to be released sometime in December. They have submitted that such persons are threat to the life and liberty of the common man. There should be a mechanism to keep a strict check on them so that people are not subjected to any risk of being harmed. The complainants have also stated that the rate of recidivism (committing crimes again) is fairly high.”