In the Capital, a trend of juveniles being lured into crime | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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In the Capital, a trend of juveniles being lured into crime

Sep 05, 2022 09:09 PM IST

As the number of juveniles apprehended for different crimes has increased in 2021, a common thread can be discerned — of larger criminal gangs hiring juveniles to do their jobs.

Inside a juvenile home in Delhi’s Alipur, a 15-year-old remembers the day, five months ago, when his life changed. He studied in a government school; he had a family, and for him, his father, a cycle rickshaw puller, was a hero. And then his father died. His mother fell ill. Doctors diagnosed a heart condition and suggested surgery. He left school and took on his father’s vocation.

According to the 2021 annual crime data, there was an increase of at least 7.6% crimes committed by minors (juvenile offenders) — 2,455 crimes in 2020 against 2,643 crimes in 2021. (Representative Image) PREMIUM
According to the 2021 annual crime data, there was an increase of at least 7.6% crimes committed by minors (juvenile offenders) — 2,455 crimes in 2020 against 2,643 crimes in 2021. (Representative Image)

“I remember that day. I was driving my rickshaw and wandering for help. It was sometime in April. A man, now I realise he was a criminal, spotted me and made me an offer. He gave me a country-made pistol, six bullets and 15,000 in cash. I needed the money, so I accepted the offer,” he said.

The following day, when he shot a man dead in Dilshad Garden, a police team caught him. Now in this juvenile detention home, where he has been lodged for the last four months, the teenager said, he does not even remember the name of the criminal who pushed him into the world of crime.

Inside this juvenile home where juveniles in conflict with the law are housed, the stories are mostly similar. There is a 16-year-old who was caught for snatching. The teenager too had been roped in by a larger criminal gang in southeast Delhi to work for them. From crimes such as murder to rape, snatching and robbery, many juveniles said they were lured with cash by the bigger criminal gangs.

The latest data shared by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows how the number of juveniles apprehended for different crimes has increased. According to the 2021 annual crime data, there was an increase of at least 7.6% in crimes committed by minors (juvenile offenders) — 2,455 crimes in 2020 against 2,643 crimes in 2021. Juveniles were involved in at least 78 murders and 154 attempts to murder cases. In 338 robbery cases, the accused persons were juveniles.

Delhi police officers attributed this increase to the trend of criminal gangs hiring juveniles to do their job. Police said the advantage of hiring juveniles is because of their clean criminal record and also the fact that the laws against children are lenient in comparison to those against adults. Police said most of the apprehended juveniles are between 15 and 17. They are paid sums ranging from 2,000-50,000 depending on the crime.

Police experts and criminologists believe that this trend is increasing because habitual criminals — who fear police and arrest — have realised the advantages of getting juveniles as extra hands.

A police officer, who asked not to be named, said that to give the slip to the police, the criminals are luring innocent minors to petty crimes. “And, this method doesn’t cost too much for the criminals as juveniles get bail immediately from the juvenile justice board. Even in heinous crimes like murder and dacoity, they don’t have to wait for too much to be bailed out. The employers of these budding criminals provide them better crime offers when they come out from their remand homes. We are trying our best to bring these first timers — mainly juveniles — into the mainstream so that they can lead a respectable life,” he said.

He further said that police have been actively launching awareness drives in the district, to save first-timers from falling prey to the habitual criminals of their areas.

Earlier this year, Delhi police apprehended two juveniles from northeast Delhi’s Jafrabad area for carrying two pistols. The police’s investigation later revealed that the two were working for Delhi’s infamous Irfan Chenu gang. The gang is notorious for crimes such as extortion and contract killings. Also, the investigation revealed the two were involved in a January 2021 murder.

In May 2020, a local Tik Tok influencer, Mohit Mor was shot dead in Dwarka. Mor was shot dead by members of the Kapil Sangwan criminal gang. The person who pulled the trigger and shot Mor dead was a 17-year-old.

Police officers said they have seen a trend of seasoned criminals hiring juveniles to commit crimes. Snatching is one of the most common street crimes across the national Capital. “The juveniles are promised some money, given a motorcycle and asked to snatch cell phones, jewellery and handbags. They are also given a weapon and told not to hesitate to pull the trigger. In June last year, we apprehended three juveniles for a murder they had committed during a snatching bid in Sultanpuri. These three were also working for an organised criminal gang,” said a mid-level officer of the Delhi crime branch.

While police continue to arrest criminals who are hiring juveniles, the police have also launched a programme to weave the juveniles away from crime. Manishi Chandra, DCP of the police’s special cell, said that police have launched YUVA 2.0 on December 17 last year, to bring these youth into the mainstream.

“It was launched as a special project of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 2.0) in 24 police stations, where 7,631 youths out of 13,157 trained got different kinds of jobs. Also, Delhi Police with the ministry of skill development under World Bank’s ‘Sankalp’ project trained 10,000 youths in 28 skills. Besides, 1,000 young trainees would be imparted training in three police stations, including Greater Kailash-1, Malviya Nagar and Saket, with CSR funding in collaboration with Vedanta Foundation. The training of other 10,000 youths is also on the cards. Such skill training, which is exclusively for six categories — school dropouts, juvenile delinquents, victims of crime, students in dire straits, first-time offenders and alcohol/drug addicts — will not only provide better job opportunities to the youths but will also divert their minds from being the puppets of the criminals,” he said.

Naveen Kumar, a professor of criminal psychology at the University of Delhi, believes that most juveniles fall prey to the trap laid by the criminals, either in the lure of the lucre or the compulsive situation. “The involvement of juveniles is not a new phenomenon for the western countries and now this trend is rapidly growing in India also. It is mainly due to the glorification of criminals on social media platforms and serials. A 15-year-old boy can be tech-savvy, but his mind remains innocent. The criminals trap these innocent minds in the lure of the lucre. And, to check these first timers to make their debut in the world of crime, society must have to bear more responsibility than the police. It’s a social issue, which can never be solved completely by any enforcement agency,” he said.

He also suggested that the police must adopt a sympathetic approach towards first-timers. "Any atrocity from the police can make their young minds reactive," Kumar added.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    In his reporting career of over 20 years, Sanjeev K Jha has covered bureaucracy, politics, ISI activities in border areas, music and Bollywood. Presently, he covers crime in the national Capital.

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