Minor jailed as adult due to official negligence:Arrested during CM visit protest in Shahdol; Board exam missed

A grave case of administrative negligence has surfaced in Shahdol district, where a 17-year-old minor was wrongly treated as an adult, sent to jail, and consequently missed his Class 12 English board examination scheduled on Tuesday. Arrest during CM visit, minor treated as adult The incident dates back to February 8, when Mohan Yadav visited Shahdol to inaugurate a water park in Dhanpuri. Around 2 pm, as the Chief Minister’s convoy was moving from Gopalpur intersection towards Lalpur airstrip, Congress workers attempted to show black flags in protest. Police officials said they had no prior intelligence about the demonstration and, due to insufficient deployment, the situation briefly turned chaotic near the convoy. During the disturbance, Shahdol Collector Kedar Singh stepped out of his vehicle and dispersed the protesters using a stick. 40 detained, three sent to jail Following the Chief Minister’s departure, police detained around 40 Congress workers. Under Section 151, all were produced before Budhar Tehsildar Sumit Kumar Gurjar around 8 pm.
While 37 people were granted conditional bail, bail was denied to three, including the minor student. At around 10 pm, all three were sent to Budhar jail—a move that later emerged as the most serious lapse, since a minor cannot legally be lodged in an adult prison. Family alleges failure to verify age The student’s family alleged that had the authorities verified his age at the time of detention, the situation could have been avoided altogether. According to them, repeated requests were made to check documents, but no immediate action was taken. Advocate Pradeep Singh, representing the student, said family members again approached the Tehsildar on Monday seeking bail. However, instead of a clear order, the matter was delayed. Later in the evening, officials reportedly indicated that bail could be granted to one accused, while the remaining two would be considered the next day. When the family insisted on bail for all three together, bail was refused. Documents confirm student was a minor The turning point came when the family produced documents proving that the student’s date of birth is May 22, 2008, making him legally a minor. The Tehsildar acknowledged the error and agreed to grant bail the same night, but the formal process could not be completed in time. Released in the morning, exam missed The student was finally released at around 7 am on Tuesday, after the jail authorities received a call from the Tehsildar. His board examination was scheduled for 9 am, but due to the extremely short window between release, travel home, and reaching the exam centre, he could not appear for the paper. Police response Shahdol Zone IG Chaitra N said the boy was part of the protesting crowd and his age was not clear at the time of arrest. “Later it was confirmed that he is under 18. Now legal action will be taken in the case as per law,” the IG said. The incident has raised serious questions about procedural lapses, age verification failures, and accountability, especially when the future of a board-exam student is at stake.