Mumbai: Days after an 18-month-old girl died after allegedly being thrown down a stairwell from the sixth floor of a residential building in Goregaon, Dindoshi police registered a murder case against her 10-year-old neighbour. The FIR was registered on Sunday based on a complaint filed by the toddler’s mother.
Juvenile Justice Board Orders Counselling
Following the child’s death, police had produced the 10-year-old before the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB), which directed that she undergo counselling and appointed an NGO to facilitate it, reported The Times of India. She was later released into the care of her parents. According to the report quoting sources, the family has since left the housing society and moved in with relatives. They had moved into the society barely a fortnight before the incident.
Toddler Found In Building Basement
The incident took place on October 14, when the toddler was reportedly playing with a cat in the common corridor outside her sixth-floor home between 9 pm and 9.30 pm. When her mother could no longer find her in the corridor, she sent the girl’s 12-year-old brother to look for her.
He too failed to locate his sister and looked down the stairwell, where he spotted a person lying in the basement wearing clothes similar to those his sister had been wearing. He immediately alerted their mother. By then, other residents had found the injured toddler and rushed her to a civic hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
Mother Raises Questions Over Alleged Fall
In her statement to the police, the mother questioned the possibility of an accidental fall, pointing out that the security railing on the sixth floor was approximately three-and-a-half feet high. She also referred to CCTV footage that allegedly showed the 10-year-old gesturing towards her daughter and calling her towards the lift.
According to the complaint, the older girl allegedly picked up the toddler after she approached her and threw her down the stairwell near the lift. The mother further alleged that the girl fled immediately afterwards, suggesting that she understood the seriousness of her actions. Police had initially registered an accidental death case before filing the murder FIR following the complaint.
Criminal Responsibility Under Indian Law
Under Indian criminal law, children below seven years of age are exempt from criminal prosecution. For children aged between seven and 12, criminal responsibility depends on whether the child had sufficient maturity to understand the nature and consequences of the conduct in question. The legal determination is therefore not automatic and depends on the circumstances and the applicable juvenile justice process.
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