Boy, 5, Accused of Killing 3 Poses Dilemma

A 5-year-old boy accused of clubbing three children to death has been abandoned by his family, who feared reprisals from the victims’ relatives.

Authorities, unable to prosecute the boy under Indian law because he is under 6, are unsure how to handle the case.

“This is the first case of its kind; we are at a loss what to do,” said Ratan Lal Kanojia, a deputy inspector general of police in the eastern state of Bihar.

Kanojia said the boy attacked the children with a bamboo club Dec. 6 when they refused to stop their noisy games outside his hut.

An 18-month-old child was killed immediately. The child’s brother and sister, ages 9 and 6, died later.

Villagers branded the boy “Little Murderer,” and his parents, fearing reprisals, fled the farming village of Purenderpur, leaving the boy to fend for himself. He was staying with distant relatives near the village, Kanojia said.