First-time offenders get a chance at life and livelihood, courtesy police’ Yuva scheme

Amit Kumar, 22, who has a gambling case registered against him, said this training will not only give his life a direction but also help him earn a good living.

In May this year, Arjun Kumar Das, 18, was arrested on charges of pickpocketing passengers on a train at Sarai Rohila railway station. That was the first time he had committed a crime, according to Delhi Police records, and was to become a turning point in his life. Two months later, Das is out on bail and has enrolled in the Delhi Police’s self-sufficiency programme, ‘Yuva’, and will soon be assisting the Covid-19 front-line workers to fight against the pandemic.

Yuva scheme has helped misled youth come back to their path. (Biplov Bhuyan/HT PHOTO)

By August, when he completes his classroom as well as practical training, Das will be given a chance to work at nursing homes and private hospitals in the capital as a clerical assistant to the medical staff.

Recalling what he calls his “biggest mistake”, Das, who had come to Delhi in January, says all he wanted to do was earn enough to take care of his family of three in Kishanganj, Bihar.

“I used to work as an electrician, but in April, the owner of the electronics shop where I was employed asked me to leave as the shop was shut due to the lockdown. Left penniless, one day, I boarded a train at Sarai Rohila railway station along with a group of six other men I knew. After some time, a few of them were caught by the public for trying to pickpocket passengers and all of us were handed over to the police. After spending a week in the lock-up we managed to get bail. My crime was that I was in the wrong company. I am not a criminal and I will regret that incident for the rest of my life,” Das said.

Das now lives in central Delhi’s Anand Parbat and he got himself enrolled in the Yuva programme in June, with the help of the beat constable in his area. “We are being trained in managing files and clerical work and are being made familiar with the work at a nursing home or a small hospital. We’ve been told that after a month of classroom training, because of the coronavirus outbreak, we will attend a few days of practical training. After that, we will be employed in nursing homes or private hospitals with the help of the police,” said Das, a class 8 drop-out.

Delhi police commissioner SN Shrivastava said, “We believe that first-time offenders must be given a chance to reform. As a crime control strategy, we are segregating them from repeat offenders and arranging for their vocational training to make them self-reliant.”

Another candidate, Deepak Goswami, 18, lives in Baljeet Nagar and is currently out on bail in a case of cell phone theft. Goswami said he used to work in Shakurpur at a garments factory when the lockdown started.

“I and many others who were employed for sewing sherwanis were suddenly laid off. I was desperate to earn money. I started working as a carpenter at a furniture shop but early May, the owner made me quit. A week later, I was caught trying to steal a mobile phone and was jailed for theft. When I came out on bail, I got in touch with our beat policemen who helped me enrol for Yuva programme,” Goswami said.

He said the training not only teaches them how to work efficiently but also educates them about how to keep away from anti-social elements and lead a healthy and safe life.

Deputy commissioner of police (central) Sanjay Bhatia said, “We have roped in a few nursing homes and private hospitals that are willing to hire such persons once they complete the training.”

“Currently, we have around 10 first-time offenders enrolled in the Yuva programme. They all lost their livelihood due to the pandemic. These men are undergoing training in a batch of 50 along with others who come from different backgrounds,” he said.

Amit Kumar, 22, who has a gambling case registered against him, said this training will not only give his life a direction but also help him earn a good living. Kumar is out on bail and supports a family of five, including his parents and two siblings.

DCP Bhatia said the idea of enrolling first-time offenders in such a programme came when it was noticed that many labourers, contractual employees and those involved in similar jobs have lost their livelihood due to lockdown.

“At the same time, there was also a spurt in the number of first-time offenders. Analysing the situation, we directed our beat staff to keep a record of such offenders in the central district and get in touch with their families. We made sure that as soon as they were released on bail, they were made aware about Yuva scheme and persuaded them to enrol,” he said.

Amita Baviskar, sociologist, Ashoka University, said in order to find a permanent solution to unemployed people resorting to crime, a basic income programme is much needed.

“Training is not the issue. Since even skilled workers are out of work, we need more jobs and income support. This calls for a much bigger initiative which won’t be possible with the efforts of the police alone,” she said.