State witnessed most murders by juveniles

MUMBAI: The arrest of a 16-year-old for the alleged murder of a head traffic constable in the city is not an isolated case where juveniles are in conflict with the

MUMBAI: The arrest of a 16-year-old for the alleged murder of a head traffic constable in the city is not an isolated case where juveniles are in conflict with the law. The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data reveals Maharashtra recorded the highest number of murders, attempt to murder, dacoity, trespass, riots and theft cases registered against minors in 2015.

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There were 128 cases of murder registered in the state against juveniles followed by Madhya Pradesh (87), Rajasthan (65), Delhi (64) and Gujarat (61).

The data shows that 188 minors were booked for attempt to murder in the state, followed by Madhya Pradesh (118), Bihar (123) and Haryana (53).

The state again had the dubious distinction of recording the highest number of dacoity cases — 61 — followed by Bihar (20), a distant second. Maharashtra also saw 336 cases of robbery by juveniles while Delhi recorded 457 cases.

While the state also recorded the highest number of criminal trespass/burglary cases with 487 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh (270) . There were 1,279 theft cases in the state while Delhi was in second place with 669 cases.

The cases committed by juveniles against women are also on the higher side. There were 151 cases of sexual harassment in the state followed by Madhya Pradesh with 100 cases.

On the other hand, Madhya Pradesh topped the list of cognizable offences with 6,320 cases, followed by Maharashtra (5,482) .

“Juveniles are very impulsive. Lack of role models, lack of values, dropping out of schools and lack of supportive environment could be probable causes [for the disturbing NCRB numbers],” Farida Lambay, co-founder, Pratham NGO.