Paradip, Sept. 1: Police have sent a person accused in a rape and murder case back to judicial custody after medical reports revealed that he was not a minor.

The person, accused in the rape and murder that took place at Mahakalpada on July 28, had to go through a bone ossification (age determination) test following allegation of violation of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000, on the police.

“We conducted the test on the accused at the district headquarters hospital here yesterday. The test revealed that he was not a minor. He was then sent following rejection of his bail pleas,” said sub-divisional police officer Shantanu Kumar Padhee.

However, human rights activists and legal experts here said the test was unwarranted as the school admission register found him to be a minor.

“The school certificate is the foremost evidence of ascertaining one’s age. There is a judicial precedent in this regard,” said retired judge Krushna Chandra Kar.