A sessions court in Jhabua on Tuesday sentenced two teenagers to life imprisonment for the murder of another teenager. Radhu Nana Palia, 16, was stabbed in Jhabua on December 5, 2016. He was allegedly killed for Rs500. Palia was rushed to a local hospital after the incident.
Two minors, a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old, were detained and sent to a correction home just the day after Palia was stabbed. They were examined by a board, which found them physically and mentally fit, and aware of the “consequences of the offense”. A charge sheet was filed within 18 days of the murder. The trial was shifted to the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge A A Khan, who, on Tuesday, convicted them and handed life term under IPC Section 302 (murder), and Sections 15 and 18 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, reported Indian Express.
“We sought life term because it was a heinous crime. It was not the rarest of rare cases, so we did not ask for capital punishment,” said Jhabua Superintendent of Police Mahesh Chandra Jain, adding that this was possibly the first such conviction under the amended law, which became effective in January 2016.
