Rape accused gets bail passing off as minor

TURA: Juvenile status became a bulwark for a man from Garo Hills, who was detained for allegedly raping his underage niece, after he managed to successfully use a school certificate to procure bail.
It may be mentioned that the accused happens to be the maternal uncle of the victim and was sexually assaulting the 11-year-old girl for months in a village under Zikzak region of South West Garo Hills district.
The crime came to light after an ASHA health worker found out that the victim was pregnant, who then alerted the parents of the child.
It was only after that the victim narrated her ordeals to her parents, who then approached the police authorities on Wednesday.
After the Ampati police detained the accused, he was produced in a court.
However, the accused was granted bail by the court after he produced a school certificate, citing underage.
The accused could not even be placed in a juvenile home in view of the lack of quarantine facilities at these centres in West and South West Garo Hills districts.
“He is currently on bail but we are going to move the court again because the document he presented is of the age recorded in his school,” informed district police chief, R Ravi.