Juvenile to train for six months

Parents of Nirbhaya of December 16 gangrape

Ananya Senguptam TT, New Delhi, Dec. 20:  The Delhi Commission for Women, which last night approached the Supreme Court to stay this evening's scheduled release of the juvenile convict in the December 16 gang rape, today claimed it had no idea he had already been shifted from the observation home.

Commission chairperson Swati Maliwal accused the state government of having kept her organisation in the dark.

Her comments came on a day the victim's parents criticised the commission for acting too late and alleged that its last-minute efforts were "just pretence".

A vacation bench of the apex court will take up the commission's special leave petition at 10.30am tomorrow. Senior Supreme Court lawyer K.V. Dhananjay said there was no law under which the apex court could extend the young man's detention.

Sources in the observation home where the convict was serving out three years' detention have told The Telegraph the now 20-year-old was shifted out at least a week ago and put in the care of a local NGO.

They said he had to spend at least the next six months with the NGO, after which the Juvenile Justice Board would review his situation. Till then, he is unlikely to be allowed to go out alone or to take up a job but his training in cooking and tailoring will continue.

"He is completely anonymous in the NGO complex, with even the staff unaware of his identity," a source said.

He said the Juvenile Justice Board had approved the rehabilitation plan, drawn up by the observation home's management committee and executed days before Delhi High Court on Friday refused to stay the convict's release.

The convict, who was to be released at 5pm today, had given the board his written consent to the plan.

Maliwal claimed she knew nothing of this when she approached the Supreme Court late last night.

She expressed regret at the charge of "pretence" by the victim's parents, who staged a dharna against the convict's release at India Gate today.

Maliwal blamed the commission's delay in moving court on lengthy consultations with its lawyers.

"Our efforts were genuine and we took all possible steps to stop the release. I'm sad to know that our efforts are being seen as pretence," she said.