5 Juveniles murder warden and inmate as their supply of 'cough syrups' shuts off

Patna, Sep 20: Should convicts aged below 18 be given status of juveniles and treated differently, given that they commit far more heinous crimes than that they are said to be capable of, is an age old debate. In an incident that seems to justify this debate, five teen aged juveniles shot dead their warden and an inmate before escaping the juvenile facility in Bihar's Purnea town, the police reports said.

It is reported that one of the five inmates is the son of a local Janata Dal United leader, the police said. Another has a long criminal history and is facing over a dozen cases. How the killers got hold of a gun is still a question the police are not able to answer.

The reason behind the crime is much more chilling. It is reported that the teenagers were addicted to cough syrup, a supplement they used to get intoxicated. Recently the warden upon inspection is said to have found the lying bottles in the room.

The warden, Bijendra Kumar has immediately approached the local juvenile justice board with a request to move the five inmates to another shelter, which was approved on Wednesday.

Enraged by the fact that the warden was spying on them and also fearing that they might lose their only way to get 'high', the five inmates are said to have shot the warden and killed him. Another inmate, a 19 year old boy was also killed in the scuffle.

The police said the five escaped from the facility after threatening the guard and forcing him to open the locked gate.

A First Information Report or FIR has been filed and teams are formed by the police to nab the juveniles.