RTI activist’s son released on bail after he was declared a minor

Patna: A 14-year old, son of a Bauxar-based right to information (RTI) activist who is currently arrested under the Arms Act, was granted bail. The local police arrested the boy in February this year, considering him an adult. The bail was granted after the State Juvenile Justice Board intervened to declare the boy as a minor.

The 14-year old was arrested by the local police on February 29 for allegedly carrying a country-made pistol. They booked the boy under the Arms Act of 1959.

According to the Indian Express, the activist-father said that his son had hitched a ride with two men from his village on a motorcycle, which was stopped by police in the Rajpur area of Buxar. The police claimed they recovered a country-made pistol from the activist’s son and a live cartridge each from the two men. “He had scored 83 per cent in the five papers he wrote. He had to appear for his final paper when he was arrested,” the activist said.

The activist, who has been fighting corruption at the local level, had alleged that his son was framed by the people he was trying to unmask, and that they were in league with the local police.

Buxar’s Superintendent of Police ordered a probe to find whether the local police were responsible for declaring the boy as an adult.