Rise in criminal cases against juveniles in Rajasthan

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Rajasthan has witnessed a slight increase in the number of criminal cases registered against juveniles in 2022 compared to the previous year, according to data released by the state's home department. The number of various types of crimes committed by juveniles in Rajasthan was 4,257 in 2022, up from 3,701 in 2021. These crimes include theft, extortion, rape, murder, and offenses under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Arms Act.

PTI reported that among the recent incidents of such crimes that made the news in the state are the detention of a juvenile along with the arrest of two others for extorting Rs 30 lakh from a jeweller in Jhunjhunu district, three juveniles being detained for attacking a retired teacher with a knife and a disgruntled student killing a 54-year-old teacher for reprimanding and expelling him from school.

Police said campaigns are being run to sensitise juveniles and make them aware.

"To sensitise juveniles, police ran a campaign in July for schoolgoing boys and girls to make them aware of the provisions of the POCSO Act. In colleges, we have done similar activities under 'Operation Disha'," Additional Director General of Police (Civil Rights) Smita Srivastava said.

She also said that under camps for the free smartphone distribution scheme of the state government, police would provide information about provisions in the law for girls and women.

On whether criminals influence juveniles to commit crimes with them as punishment provisions for them are not harsh under the Juvenile Justice Act, Srivastava said, "Criminals always try to bend the laws and take benefit of it. But it is our effort to take strict action under the ambit of law."

Deputy Inspector General (Civil rights and anti-human trafficking) Vikas Pathak said, "The government is taking several initiatives to treat juveniles who commit crimes in a way that they don't become regular criminals. Not disclosing names, presenting chargesheets before a separate court and not calling them criminals are some of the steps taken."

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Another police official said there is a lot of focus on crimes against women and SC/STs, but there is no dedicated branch dealing with crimes committed by juveniles as such.

According to the data, in the past two years (2021-2022) 1,358 cases of theft were registered against juveniles, followed by 571 cases of rape, 514 cases of forgery, 379 cases of kidnapping, 319 cases of robbery, 305 cases of attempt to murder and 168 cases of murder.

In these two years, the number of cases registered under sections of the POCSO Act was 266, Arms Act 148, NDPS Act 88, SC/ST Act 78 and Excise Act 48.

The maximum number of cases were registered in Chittorgarh, Jhalawar, Dungarpur, Dhaulpur, Bharatpur, Udaipur, Banswara and Bikaner, according to the data. (Agencies)