GUWAHATI, March 20 � Over 500 juveniles, mostly between 15 to 18 years of age, got involved in criminal activities in Assam in the last ten months, indicating clearly the growing vulnerability of the generation next.
More significantly, the number of juveniles in conflict with law witnessed an alarming rise by almost 20 per cent compared to the preceding year (2011) when 402 cases of such crimes were registered. The juvenile crime map has been marked by increasing cases of serious offences like rape and kidnapping, besides burglary and theft.
While over 40 minors have been booked for committing rape in the last ten months, the figure of those involved in kidnapping grew over 50. But the highest involvement of juveniles was found in criminal acts like theft and burglary.
Compared to the 2012, the year 2011 recorded 33 and 44 cases of rape and kidnapping respectively. Moreover, 67 cases of burglary and 121 cases of thefts were also registered during the same period.
The year 2010 recorded over 360 cases of juvenile crimes, official sources stated.
The ascending graph of juvenile crime in Assam, according to police sources, also reflects that the offenders are mostly from poor background. �A deeper look into it will also show that most of them have either school dropouts or had never been to schools,� an official said.
In Guwahati, involvement of juveniles in criminal acts, besides multiple drug abuse, has been a constant worry. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) Act, 2000, is the primary law for disposal of matters related to children in need of care and protection and those in conflict in law.
