A 10-year-old boy in Maharashtra's Satara district in India allegedly hacks his 8-year-old brother using an axe because he was jealous that his younger brother was getting more attention from their parents.
According to Times Now News, the incident took place on Monday after the boys' parents who were farm laborers had left their house to work on a field in a nearby village.
An officer from Shirwal police station said that the incident occurred when the two children had a misunderstanding. The younger brother supposedly picked up an axe and started running towards his older brother in the field.
His older brother tried to take the weapon but while he was trying to pull it away, the "rear" end of the axe hit his younger brother, the officer revealed.
After being hurt, the 8-year-old boy started crying and threatened to expose his brother to their parents. But that only made the 11-year-old boy more furious and that's when he decided to hit his younger brother again with the axe.
News18 reported that there was an incision inflicted on the victim's throat when the infuriated boy pulled out the axe from him. It was concluded that the accused older brother threw the weapon away and left his brother to die in the bushes. The parents found out about the crime only after they discovered their 8-year-old son's body lying in his own pool of blood. Further details about them were not revealed.
The police have registered the case under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) while the 11-year-old boy was said to have appeared in the Juvenile Justice court on Tuesday.
Unicef stated that the minimum age of criminal liability in India is 7 years, however, it can be raised up to 12 years of age if the child is found to have not attained the ability to understand the nature and consequences of his act.
Meanwhile, earlier this year, China has lowered the age of criminal liability for various crimes from 14 to 12 years of age. Under the new law, children aged as young as 12 will be held punishable for crimes such as intentional homicide or intentional injury that leads to death or extreme disability.
