207 juveniles caught for committing crimes in Chandigarh in 2016: NCRB

Crimes, in which juveniles were arrested, included murder (one), attempt to murder (six), theft (22), robberies (eight), rape (six) and gangrape (one).

A total of 207 juveniles were caught for committing crimes in Chandigarh in 2016, revealed figures released by the National Crime Records Bureau. As many as 66 of them were wanted by the Chandigarh Police in connection with cases reported in 2015 and 141 for crimes committed in 2016.

Crimes, in which juveniles were arrested, included murder (one), attempt to murder (six), theft (22), robberies (eight), rape (six) and gangrape (one). Of the 207, 103 juveniles were staying with their parents, 32 with their guardians and six homeless.

A total of 58 juveniles out of 207 were slapped fines after the completion of trial, 57 got acquitted and eight sent to special homes for reformation. According to their educational qualifiations, 52 juveniles had competed primary section, 78 dropped out of classes below matriculation and four were in senior secondary classes.

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“There are a number of cases where juveniles were arrested for committing crimes like assaulting their fellow students. In some cases, juveniles were also arrested for committing crimes through Information Technology (IT) using smartphones,” said a senior Chandigarh Police officer.

“It is the failure of society and our education system. If 103 arrested juveniles out of 141 are staying with their parents and 134 juveniles are students, then we can imagine where the problem lies. We cannot blame only juveniles for their involvement in the crime,” said Pramod Sharma, child activist and member of the Chandigarh Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CCPCR).

In 2015, 212 juveniles were arrested in Chandigarh. 65 of them were arrested for cases reported in 2014 and 147 for crimes in 2015. Out of the 147, 26 were illiterate, 30 were studying in primary classes, 59 were students between primary section and matriculation and 32 studying in senior secondary classes.