Sambalpur: Police Fails as Criminals Using Minors for Various Crimes Across District
Sambalpur: The Sambalpur district has noticed an unsettling increase in minor involvement in criminal activity. Even while the authorities have been able to capture many well-known criminals, some seasoned criminals appear to have made it their mission to train and recruit new, younger offenders to carry on their illicit operations.
These seasoned criminals are essentially creating training camps to give teens the skills necessary for a life of crime, posing it as a job, while law enforcement tries to stop crime. They are taking advantage of the relatively light punishment for minor offenses by deliberately focusing on young people between the ages of 15 and 17.
Law enforcement organizations and the general public are both extremely concerned about the unexpected rise in children joining criminal gangs. These criminal masterminds are making use of the Juvenile Justice Act’s provisions in an attempt to avoid receiving harsher terms. They are employing youngsters as pawns in crimes including theft, robbery, and even murder.
The Sambalpur police arrested 71 child males and 1 minor girl in a variety of criminal offenses throughout the district in 2023, according to statistics. Among the urban police stations, Burla recorded the highest number of 17 minor arrests last year. Similarly, the Town police station apprehended 11 minors, Khetrajpur caught 7, Hirakud had 3 minor arrests, while Sadar, Bareipali, and Dhanupali each arrested 2, 1, and 1 minor respectively.
In addition to the urban areas, a total of 13 juveniles were caught by the various police stations in the rural parts of the district last year. The highest number of 4 minors were arrested in Rengali, followed by 3 each in Thelkoloi and Gobindpur, and 1 minor each in Dhama, Charmal, and Sason.
Shockingly, the maximum number of minors apprehended were 17 years old. Out of the 72 total minor arrests made in 2023, a staggering 42 were aged 17 years. Additionally, 21 were 16 years old, 6 were 15 years old, 2 were 14 years old, and 1 was just 13 years old. Alarmingly, many more juvenile offenders managed to escape the clutches of the law.
As of April 15th, this year, the trend continued, with 25 children already caught. Having made 5 arrests, Burla is once again at the top, followed by Ainthapali (4), Khetrajpur, Rengali, Sadar Thana (3 each), Town Thana, Hirakud (2 each), Dhama, Katarbaga, and Telkoloi regions (1 each). Both government officials and the general public are now extremely concerned about this growing issue.
In response, Sambalpur has created two Juvenile Justice Boards to deal with the growing problem of juvenile criminality. But even with the growing number of children involved in criminal activity around the state, it doesn’t seem that the administration or the police are doing anything noticeable to stop these impressionable teens from a life of crime.
