Delhi: Crime
This is a collection of articles archived for the excellence of their content. |
2013
Juveniles, cyber crooks keep police on toes
Raj Shekhar & Somreet Bhattacharya New Delhi:
TNN
The Times of India Jul 02 2014
More Minors Involved In Rapes; Most Offenders Fall Under 16-18 Age Group
Cases involving juvenile offenders have increased by 28%--2,140 minors were tracked down in 1,590 criminal cases registered in 2013. In 2012, the figure was 1,541 against 523 cases.
In 2013, most juveniles were charged with theft as has been the trend. Unlike 2012, they were found to be involved in more rape cases than murders.
Of the 2,140 juveniles apprehended, 2,087 were found to be involved in cognizable offences; 697 were sent to home after admonition and advice, while 301 were released on probation. As many as 692 juveniles were sent to special homes, 17 faced fines and 149 were acquitted; 267 cases are pending.
Among those apprehended, 821 had dropped out of school at the higher secondary level; 599 were primary school dropouts, and 421 were illiterate.
As many as 1,774 were found to be also living with their parents, while 69 were homeless; 849 children were found to have a family income below Rs 25,000 a year, while 714 belonged to the in come group of Rs 25,001-Rs 50,000.
In 2013, juveniles were involved in 928 cases of theft, burglary or snatching, followed by 163 cases of rape and 76 murder cases.
In 2012, the figure was 1,144, of which 523 were involved in theft, followed by100 cases of murder and 63 of rape.
The NCRB statistics reinforce the need to bring down the juvenile age limit to 16, which Delhi Police has been demanding since the Nirbhaya case.
Out of 2,087 apprehended juveniles, 1,148 were in the age-group of 16-18. In 2012, this figure was 860. Nationally, 66.8% of the juveniles are in this age group.
Among the apprehended juveniles, 875 were boys between 12 and 16; the figure was 617 for 2012. The cops apprehended 23 girls of different ages for various crimes. In 2013 and 2012, juveniles were found to be involved in rapes, gruesome murders of elderly people and robberies.
Around a dozen escapes from correctional homes were reported in the last two years.
Delhi Police has requested juvenile justice boards and child welfare committees to put in place stronger rehabilitation programmes at correctional homes so that minors can be weaned away from criminal activities.
Senior police officers made this request to Child Welfare Committee officials during a sensitization programme.
In a programme conducted by the Delhi police earlier this year, the principal judge JJB-II, Suchi Laler, had even asked the counsellors to find out the reason behind children resorting to crime and had called for educating the parents too.
