Mumbai, Oct 19 (IANS) Samajwadi Party (SP) Maharashtra President and MLA, Abu Asim Azmi, on Monday demanded that the age threshold for treating an accused as a minor be lowered, arguing that juveniles aged 15 or 16 should face the same punishment as adults if they commit murder.
Speaking to IANS, Azmi said, “First and foremost, my demand is that the age threshold for a minor be lowered from 17 years to 14 years. At 15 or 16, young people have ‘hot blood’; they fear no one and are capable of doing anything. This age limit should be reduced to 12, 13 or 14 years. If they commit murder, they should face the same punishment as anyone else.”
Reacting to the firing incident involving actor Tiger Shroff in Mumbai, Azmi criticised Mumbai’s law and order situation, alleging that several incidents of murder and violence had taken place without receiving adequate public attention.
“First Baba Siddique, now Tiger Shroff, and it doesn’t end there. Many other murders have occurred previously as well. However, since those victims were not prominent or famous figures, their cases haven’t been highlighted. Murders are rampant in Mumbai. In Mankhurd-Shivaji Nagar, people are being murdered over the most trivial matters. The law and order situation is in a dire state,” he said.
Azmi also criticised the Maharashtra government, alleging that it was focussing its efforts on targeting Muslims rather than addressing law and order concerns.
“I want to tell Chief Minister Fadnavis that this government is focussing all its energy on humiliating Muslims. I ask, why don’t such murders happen in Singapore? Why does no one dare to commit such acts there? Why are there no murders in Arab countries? And if a murder does occur, how quickly is a verdict reached? Just look back at the pages of history,” he said.
He added that people in Mumbai were living in constant fear and said it was shameful for the government when individuals openly claimed responsibility for such crimes.
The firing incident took place on Sunday at around 7 p.m. when Tiger Shroff was returning by car from a football ground in Mumbai’s Juhu area.
According to police, the assailants fired at the vehicle with a pistol, injuring the driver. Another person present at the scene was also hit by a bullet.
A Mumbai Police official said Shroff managed to lean forward when the shots were fired, helping him avoid a direct hit. However, he sustained an injury from a fragment of shattered glass.
Police are investigating the motive behind the attack, tracing the weapon used in the shooting and determining whether other individuals were involved.
In a major development in the case, Kota City Police in Rajasthan apprehended three suspects, including a minor, at Kota railway station in connection with the firing incident on the Bollywood star.
–IANS
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