BANGALURU: The Pune teen horror has once again brought the focus back on juvenile offenders. Why do some children commit some of the most heinous crimes? With no particular criminal inclinations, most children in conflict with law (CCLs) have been found to be products of a lack of parental care, neglect, abuse, violence at home, etc. Also, poverty is a contributing factor, which puts them in the crosshairs of the world.
At the special home for CCLs in Bengaluru, there are 37 inmates aged between 15 and 22 years, who are getting educated and are imparted skills for a reformed and better life. “Out of the 37 inmates, there are 14 juveniles, who have fathered a child in early adolescence, allegedly as part of their tribal custom and were convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” says Dr Antony Sebastian, Founder and Executive Director, ECHO (Empowerment of Children and Human Rights Organisation) – a non-profit organisation, which manages the Government Special Home for CCLs. “Child pregnancy is not uncommon in this tribal community. Those with complications get admitted in hospitals and are reported. The government, also with the help of NGOs, is making consistent efforts to spread awareness on child marriage in sensitive and vulnerable communities,” he adds.
The remaining 13 inmates have been convicted of heinous crimes by the Juvenile Justice Board (JJB) – for rape, murder, dacoity, robbery, etc. – under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015. They were sent to the special home for reformation and rehabilitation for a three-year period. The oldest is 22 years old. He was convicted for murder before the JJ Act was amended in 2015. He was earlier released on bail, but later convicted for the crime by the JJB.
Remorse and Repentance
An adolescent was convicted for rape. Another 17-year-old was convicted for murder and brought to the centre. He had murdered his brother – a PUC student – with an iron rod in an inebriated state. One juvenile (17) was convicted for brutally attacking his mother, when she refused to give him her mobile phone. The personal narratives are horrific and gut-wrenching. The inmates are remorseful and repent for their crime in retrospect. They fall silent, when asked why they committed it. Their eyes don’t meet yours, but look far away, beyond the horizon even as they whisper uncomfortably about their past.
“All inmates at the special home come from disadvantaged backgrounds; of broken homes, alcohol abuse, violence, and poverty. Most of them are either orphans, abandoned by their parents or abused by step-parents,” says Sebastian, adding that 85-90 per cent of the children who come into conflict with the law hail from brutal backgrounds, where they have been neglected; severely abused emotionally, physically, or sexually; or have undergone severe trauma and deprivation. “Every child in conflict with the law is a child who would have been in need of care and protection at some point in time in their life,” he adds.
“When a juvenile is brought to the centre, we closely monitor him for the first 15 days. Most of them are substance abusers and go through withdrawal symptoms, depression and anxiety at being taken away from home. We counsel them and win their trust and it is then that they slowly open up,” says ECHO Home Superintendent Biju P Thomas. He adds that within 24 hours of being brought to the centre, around 15 per cent ask for their parents. “Some ask for them later and there are some who don’t ask for anyone at all, because perhaps there is no one back home, who would inquire for them,” he mentions.
As part of the reform and rehabilitation at the Government Special Home, inmates are encouraged to study and are skill-trained in various activities, including farming and dairy, in the two-and-half-acre campus. “We have started a short-term course in hotel management. Five students have cleared their PUC, three their SSLC exams in second division, and one is studying for his undergraduate degree,” says Thomas. Yoga, meditation, and art therapy are part of the daily routine at the special home, recently re-modelled by Bosch under its CSR initiative.
Regarding the success of the programme, Sebastian says that since the inception of the special home in 2011, they have had 287 juveniles. “Those who left after the completion of their reform and rehabilitation period are earning their livelihood honourably. We watch them for at least three years. Their safety is as important as their social integration. We have seen a lot of children getting into conflict with law under adult influence. We have had no repeat entrees in our home,” he concludes.