Protecting our young isn't child's play

SC's decision to uphold death sentence for two women, convicted of murdering nine children, clearly meets the ends of justice.

The Supreme Court decision to uphold the death sentence for two women, convicted of kidnapping 13 children and murdering nine of them, clearly meets the ends of justice. Considering that children are far more vulnerable than adults to violence, the enormity of the crime is immeasurable. The decision also serves to focus on the subterranean world of criminal-beggars. Renuka Shinde and Seema Gavit operated a juvenile crime racket out of Kolhapur in Maharashtra between 1990 and 1996 using children who had been abducted and pushed into begging and burglary. The two, along with their late mother, murdered the children once they became a little older, out of fear of being reported to the police.

HT Image

The closure of this case comes on the heels of the National Crime Records Bureau’s study on crimes against children. What the report brings out is that the severity and extent of crimes against children is not yet in the public eye and that the conviction rate for such crimes must be far higher in order for the law to be a deterrent. As it is, unearthing the crimes in the dimly lit world of beggars and street urchins is difficult. The Shinde-Gavit case was able to reach a ‘satisfactory’ conclusion only after Renuka’s husband Kiran Shinde turned approver. The police, hard-pressed to deal with crime in other areas, simply ignores these unfortunates.

Alarmingly, the NCRB’s 2000 data points to Delhi having the dubious record of having the highest number of crimes against children. This is not surprising, given the lawless character of the city that also tops in crimes against the elders and women. While it is acknowledged that fear of the law won’t stop exploitation of children, rooted as it is in ‘social disorder and apathy’, there is little reason why the mafia-led business of begging cannot be tackled more proactively by law enforcers. Intriguingly, the NCRB report itself generates a degree of disquiet. It states at the outset that there exists no official classification of crimes against children. Hence data collection and analysis differ from year to year. The data is simply culled from reports where ‘children’ are victims. Then the report goes on to warn that “the age of child varies as per definition given in the Acts and laws.... Below 18 years as per Juvenile Justice Act 2000”. Moreover, its inclusion of foeticide in crimes against children would suggest that abortion in India is illegal. At the same time, there is no mention of records of any form of abuse of children. For instance, cases against paedophiles, a more serious problem than assumed, don’t show up. In other words, crimes against children could be grossly under-reported.

When no comprehensive framework exists to measure the extent of crimes against children, it is not surprising that criminals get away with murder. The execution of Renuka Shinde and Sema Gavit, if and when it takes place, will be a first in India that one need not be proud of. Yet, in awarding the death sentence, the courts have upheld tenets of humanity and justice for the helpless and hapless victims.