Delhi Police are likely to approach the court seeking that three minors accused in the alleged gang-rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in north Delhi's Swaroop Nagar be tried as adults, two senior officers familiar with the investigation said.
The police are preparing the charge sheet and expect to file it within a week. The three juveniles, aged 16 and 17, have been sent to a correctional home for boys after being produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. The 19-year-old accused was sent to judicial custody after interrogation on Friday.
Investigators are also considering bone ossification tests to establish the ages of the three minors, despite having recovered documents that indicate their ages. A similar test is being considered for the victim because her family has not been able to provide documents relating to her birth or schooling.
Police examine possibility of adult trial
"We are in the process of preparing a watertight charge sheet, which we plan to submit in the court within a week. We will also request the court to try the three alleged juvenile accused as adults, as they are aged 16 and 17 and their crime falls under the heinous category," a senior officer, who did not wish to be identified, said.
The four accused are alleged to have raped the girl, who was known to one of them, in the early hours of September 11 before stabbing her when she allegedly threatened to report the incident to police. Her mutilated body was recovered from an open field near Kushak Road two days later.
Other reports said the three juveniles are aged 17, 17 and 16, while the adult accused has been identified as Shivam Ganesh, 19. Police have also recovered two knives and clothing allegedly worn during the crime.
Victim's age and missing complaint under scrutiny
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the girl's disappearance and why her family did not lodge a missing-person complaint.
According to an officer, the family told investigators that they believed the girl had gone outside Delhi with friends, something they said she had done in the past. Police, however, said they were not convinced by this explanation.
The girl had been living with her father and brother in Swaroop Nagar. Police are now considering a bone ossification test to establish her exact age because her family has been unable to produce birth or school records.
CCTV footage led police to the accused
The case was cracked through technical investigation after police examined more than 50 CCTV cameras in the area. Investigators noticed a goods vehicle, or tempo, near the field where the body was dumped.
Police traced the vehicle to its owner, who told them that his 17-year-old younger brother had taken it on September 10. The teenager was questioned and allegedly confessed to the crime, after which the other three accused were apprehended.
The police had earlier said the girl's body was found on September 13 in an open field near Kushak Road. It was initially difficult to establish her identity because of the condition of the body. Investigators subsequently established that it belonged to the 16-year-old girl.
According to police, one of the juveniles appeared to be the girl's friend and she had gone to meet him before the alleged crime. Investigators are examining the individual roles of all four accused. One of the accused has reportedly claimed that he was not involved in the sexual assault but participated in the murder, a version police are verifying.
Police probe whether murder was pre-planned
The 19-year-old accused allegedly told investigators that he and his friends panicked and became angry after the girl threatened to file a rape complaint. He also claimed that she wanted to marry him, but that he was unwilling to do so.
Police said they were verifying these claims and investigating whether the murder was pre-planned. The question has arisen because the adult accused and one of the juveniles were allegedly already carrying knives.
The FIR has been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including those relating to murder, rape and causing disappearance of evidence, along with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The investigation into the sequence of events and the precise role of each accused remains under way.