Kochi, Oct 26: The Juvenile Justice Board has granted bail to the 17-year-old boy accused of driving the Mercedes-Benz that struck and killed scooter rider Jayabalakrishnan, 55, in Cheranalloor in the early hours of Sunday, The Hindu reported on Monday. The absence of any previous criminal antecedents was among the grounds cited for granting bail. The decision has not gone down well with protesters demanding his arrest, who have also been seeking action against the boy's father, a judicial officer and the registered owner of the car, The Hindu said. The accused, being a minor, is not being named, and the allegations against him have not been proved in court.

Source: The Hindu via ScoopFeeds

The crash took place around 2.20 a.m. on Sunday, October 25, near a car showroom at Maraparambu on Container Road in Cheranalloor. According to the FIR, the boy was travelling alone in the car from Vallarpadam towards Kalamassery when it hit the scooter, which was moving in the same direction. Jayabalakrishnan, who was returning home after shutting his eatery at Chittur, died on the spot. The Cheranalloor Circle Inspector told the media that the boy was not drunk, as per the preliminary medical examination, The Hindu reported in its account of the crash.

Source: The Hindu (crash report)

Police initially registered the case under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 281 (rash driving) and 106(1) (causing death by negligence), and the minor was released on station bail later on Sunday under Section 8 of the Juvenile Justice Act, according to the police account reported by The Hindu. Following public and political outrage and directions from the Home Minister, police added BNS Section 105 — culpable homicide not amounting to murder, a non-bailable offence — and produced the teenager before the Juvenile Justice Board after taking him back into custody, according to PNI News and NationPress. Investigators have seized the vehicles, collected forensic evidence and taken the minor's blood samples for testing, Particle News reported.

Source: PNI News

2.20 a.m.Time of the fatal crash on Container Road, Cheranalloor, on Sunday, October 25
BNS 105Culpable-homicide section added after the initial Sections 281 and 106(1)
55Age of the victim, eatery owner Jayabalakrishnan of Chittur, Cheranalloor

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala directed the police to take urgent action after the station-bail release triggered public outrage. The Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) has been asked to examine the alleged lapses in the handling of the case, and a show-cause notice is to be issued to Kochi City Police Commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar over the initial release, NationPress reported. The victim's family and local residents had gathered outside the Cheranelloor police station in protest, alleging that the case was handled differently because of the accused's family background — an allegation authorities have not publicly addressed and which remains unproved.

Source: NationPress

Police are also examining whether the teenager's father, Additional District Judge Reno Francis Xavier, the registered owner of the Mercedes-Benz, can face legal action under the Motor Vehicles Act for allegedly allowing an unlicensed minor to have access to the car, NationPress and PNI News reported. The investigation is continuing, and the full scope of charges is yet to be determined.

Source: NationPress