Seven-yr-old faces dowry charges

Sameer Kumar, Abhay Mohan Jha
Saturday, May 26, 2007 (Begusarai)

A seven-year-old has been charged in a dowry case in Bihar. Santosh, a class four student has paid the price for a crime he did not commit.

''They framed me in a dowry case. I study in class 4. Police came to my house and asked for money. They threatened to send me to Munger otherwise,'' he said.

Santosh was named in a dowry harassment case last year along with his parents and his elder brother. His parents and brother got bail after his father reached a compromise with the complainant. But given Santosh's tender age, the court didn't pass any specific bail order in his name.

Santosh's lawyer says there were serious lapses in the way the case was handled.

''The age of none of the accused has been mentioned in the entire case diary,'' said Vijay Maharaj. Police admit they made a mistake but say the witnesses in the case had a role to play.

''None of the witnesses mentioned that the accused is under age. I agree that we have made a mistake in this case,'' said Amit Lodha, SP, Begusarai.

Police say Santosh can breathe easy irrespective of the outcome of the case. But this comes as cold comfort for someone who has learnt a bitter lesson so early in life.

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070013361

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