'Nirbhaya gang-rape case juvenile was victim of sexual abuse as child'

Juvenile convict in Nirbhaya gang-rape case

New Delhi: An explosive detail has come to light in the Nirbhaya gang-rape case.

According to The Quint, the juvenile convict – who is set to be released in a few days as his three-year sentence in an Observation Home gets over on December 16 – was a victim of sexual abuse as a child.

The detail became public after the juvenile's lawyer wrote a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs on the convict's behalf.

“Applicant was very harassed by unnatural offence from his childhood by different person which was paying money for survive of his family (sic),” the letter states, as per The Quint.

The letter goes on to say that the juvenile – who is no longer a minor - is not willing to stay in an ‘after-care’ or in custody of an NGO after his sentence is completed later this month.

“We wrote this letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs on 26 November because he (juvenile) fears for his life. He has served his term at the Juvenile Home. Now he is a free man. Legally, the government can’t place him in an NGO. He is averse to it. Keeping him in NGO would mean detaining him,” the lawyer said.