The Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) has observed that the 17-year-old boy, who was allegedly driving the SUV that collided with a motorcycle and a taxi in Delhi’s Dwarka earlier this month, killing 23-year-old Sahil Dhanishra, “does not understand the value of a precious life”.
In its order obtained by HT, the board noted that when the teenager appeared before it on February 4, a day after the fatal accident, he “appeared to show no remorse” and appeared unaware of the value of human life.
“Based on an inquiry from CCL [child in conflict with law]“He does not appear to understand the value of human life and does not feel remorse for his action,” the order dated February 14 said.
The boy was then sent for “proper rehabilitation and counselling” and for his “safety and security” to an observation home, Hindustan Times reported earlier.
New video appears
A new video of the fatal accident, which occurred on February 3 at around 11:50 am near Lal Bahadur Shastri Institute of Management in Sector 11 in Dwarka, has surfaced on social media showing the aftermath of the accident.
Also read: ‘Let my son’s sacrifice be a lesson’: Dwarka crash victim’s mother has a warning for parents
The clip, which is more than a minute long, shows a crowd of people gathering at the scene of the accident and getting into an altercation with the 17-year-old defendant and his sister, apparently preventing them from leaving. In the video, the sister can be heard saying that the motorcyclist was speeding.
The video shows Sohail lying on the side of the road after the accident with his bike, an R15 Yamaha, also lying on the road, along with a parked Swift Dzire taxi, which was also hit by the SUV during the accident.
The police are verifying the authenticity of the video.
The defendant’s father expresses remorse
Although the 17-year-old accused appeared to appear without any remorse during the JJB hearing, his father expressed deep remorse and apologized to Sahil’s mother. He said that he was “ready to abide by the judiciary’s decision.”
The accused’s father is also facing a case and the Delhi Police is holding him liable under the Motor Vehicles Act, HT reported earlier.
“I was in Gorakhpur for work when I received a phone call on February 3 informing me that my son had met with an accident. I returned to Delhi immediately and received the details from the police,” he told news agency PTI.
He said: “I deeply apologize to the mother who lost her son, and I am ready to ask her for forgiveness and I will follow any decision taken by the law and the judiciary,” adding that he “would not dare” to confront her because he cannot undo her loss.
Accused on interim bail for class 10 exams
The 17-year-old accused is a student of Class 10 and is appearing for the ongoing board exams, for which he was granted interim bail by the JJB on February 10. However, he was asked to surrender immediately after the tests ended on March 9.
“The need for immediate academic preparation and continuity of studies constitutes a relevant consideration under the rehabilitative and correctional objective of the Social Justice Act,” the bench said while granting bail while placing several restrictions and clarifying that bail is temporary in nature.
The teen will remain in his father’s custody during bail, according to the order, after posting a personal bond $10,000 with one guarantee of the same amount. The bond is valid until March 9.
In the bail application, the accused was presented as a student with “outstanding academic record” and also asserted that the incident was “purely accidental” and he had no intention of causing any injury or death. She also claimed that the boy remained at the scene after the incident, informed police himself, and cooperated in the investigation.
(With inputs from Arnabjeet Sur, Himani Bhandari)
