Kathua case: Accused who claimed to be juvenile is aged above 20, says medical report

The medical report of an accused in the Kathua rape and murder case who had claimed to be a juvenile was submitted before the district and sessions court here today by the Jammu and Kashmir police's crime branch in which his age was stated to be more than 20 years, special public prosecutor J K Chopra said.

The court hearing, which resumed after the summer break, could begin only after lunch.

District and Sessions Judge Tajwinder Singh had issued directions to the crime branch to conduct a bone ossification test to ascertain the age of Parvesh Kumar alias 'Mannu', one of the eight accused in the brutal rape-and-murder case of an eight-year-old nomadic girl in Kathua district of Jammu and Kashmir in January.

"The report has been submitted and final arguments on it will be concluded tomorrow after which the judge will pronounce his verdict," Chopra said.

Asked what was the opinion of the doctors about the accused's age, Chopra said, "According to it (medical opinion), his age is stated to be 20 plus."