NEW DELHI: It is not clear whether it is machismo or gangsterism, but trends indicate that minor boys are getting more attracted towards committing crime which gets them into conflict with the law.The killing of an 18-year-old man by a minor boy in northeast Delhi’s Welcome area is not an isolated incident. Every now and then, the city gets shaken up by unusually-grotesque acts of crime committed by juveniles.
A few months back, one Harpreet Gill (36), who worked as a senior manager in Amazon, was shot by a juvenile while his uncle Govind Singh narrowly escaped death with a gunshot injury on his head.
It was not personal enmity but just rage on part of 18-year-old Mohd. Sameer alias Maya, who just wanted to show off his bravado, which destroyed the life of a family when he fired two shots into the heads of
two people.
Maya is now behind bars and all is not well for him now. “He is dejected as he does not enjoy any kind of respect in jail. He says that fellow inmates do not treat him as a big gangster and respect him,” a police officer told his newspaper.
Recruited by gangsters
Often, it has been seen that juveniles are enticed and recruited by gangsters to commit crime.
This is because the law mandates a minor criminal to be sent to a correctional home rather than jail. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act defines a juvenile as anyone below the age of 18 years. It says, “In no case a child alleged to be in conflict with law shall be placed in a police lock up or lodged in a jail.”
Moreover, even after spending some time at a correctional home, a juvenile is often set free. This is why even some big time gangsters prefer to recruit minors to commit crimes on their behalf.Police officials told this newspaper that there has been a growing trend where they have seen juveniles being tasked specifically to commit crimes.
Hang him or he’ll soon be out to kill someone else, says victim’s mother
Shocked over the brutal murder of her son in a most horrific and ruthless way, the mother of the victim demanded the death penalty for the accused. She alleged that as the accused is a juvenile, he will be set free in a few years and might again commit murder.
“I demand the death penalty for him. The police made him a juvenile. He will return back in a year and ruin some other mother’s life. He should get the strictest punishment. He is calling himself 16-year-old and escaping the law. He should be immediately hanged,” the 45-year-old mother said while speaking to this newspaper.
The woman said she saw his son last time on Tuesday evening when he was flying a kite and she asked him to bring some ration.“I handed him Rs 300 and asked him to buy some milk & flour. It was the last time that I saw him, he went away and never came back,” she said.
Tattoo for mom on chest
When her son did not return, his mother started searching for him. “Next morning I received a call from the police who informed me that my son had a fight with some person and was stabbed. The cops asked me to immediately visit the police station,” the woman said. Minutes later she received another call from the police.“They asked me whether there was any way to identify my son. I replied he has a tattoo imprinted on his chest that reads, ‘Meri Jaan Mom’,” she said.
Accused brandished weapons in videos put on social media
“Bhai hai apna, jail mein 302 mein andar (He is like my brother, inside jail for murder),” read a caption below a video uploaded by the accused juvenile in which a woman was speaking to mediapersons about her brother’s murder.
The minor stabbed another juvenile more than 55 times, slit his throat, dragged the body through the street and danced while committing the crime earlier this week in east Delhi’s welcome colony area. The accused was detained on Wednesday morning and according to police, the minor has confessed to the crime. The juvenile stated that he did not know the minor he allegedly murdered and had approached him for money to buy biryani.
The accused juvenile has uploaded videos on his social media account showcasing knives, and guns or walking inside a court premises as a criminal. A police official said it might give him a “fake sense of pride”. The police are planning to move the court presenting it as the ‘rarest of rare’ crime. “The juvenile is not mentally challenged and seems normal,” police added.