HC grants bail to two children, orders transfer of case to juvenile court

The High Court yesterday granted bail to two children, detained in a case filed for killing another child in Kamrangirchar of the capital in last October year, till disposal of the case.

During hearing a writ petition, the court said that the detention of the children without determining their age is against the relevant law.

The HC bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah came up with the order during hearing a rule issued over the legality of the duo's detention.

It asked the chief metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka to transfer the case to the juvenile court, and ordered the police to ensure safety and security of the children, while fixed March 1 for further hearing, petitioner's lawyer Barrister Abdul Halim said.

The HC on January 15 asked police to produce the children following the petition filed by Children's Charity Bangladesh Foundation (CCBF), a human rights organisation, seeking necessary order to determine the age of the duo.

According to the petition, the children are below nine years but police sent them to the custody mentioning that they are over 12 years.

Police cannot arrest any child, who is less than nine, as per the relevant provisions of the Children Act, 2013, he added.

Alif Bhuiyan, son of Uzzal Bhuiyan of Kamrangirchar, was killed on last September 29. His body was recovered on October 11 and the same day police arrested the two.