A few months ago, a young couple went to an isolated spot on the beach somewhere between Rushikonda and Bheemunipatnam. They were approached by four youth. The boy was hit on the head with a stone and incapacitated and the girl was gang-raped by the four.

According to sources in the Police Department, the case had gone unreported as the parents did not want to lodge a complaint. But the unique part of the case was the victims, both the boy and the girl, and the rapists were juveniles.

The crime rate among juveniles is on the rise and as per Swarna Kumari of District Juvenile Justice Board, there is a steady increase of about 20 per cent every year since last five years. “On an average we get at least 30 juveniles at the juvenile homes every month. They could be juveniles in conflict with law or just neglected children,” she says.

As per the City Crime Record Bureau (CCRB) statistics, in the last six months there were 60 offences committed by juveniles and 51 were apprehended.

Last week, a special team from Central Crime Station (CCS) apprehended 11-member gang who were involved in at least eight offences including house-breaking, extortion and chain snatching, and nine of them were juveniles. According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) S. Varada Raju, apart from policing, to control the rise of crime in this segment, society should play a proactive role.

No parental care

Profiling the people involved and type of the crime committed, the ADCP says, “Most of the crime is committed by juveniles from the BPL segment or lower middle class. It may be due to the environment or social factor. Parental care is grossly missing in this segment as both parents are daily wage earners. High percentage of school dropouts and addiction to vices are the major factors that lure them to commit crime for easy money.”

House-breaking, followed by chain-snatching, are the major crimes committed by this segment, says Mr. Varada Raju.