Juvenile criminals feel no guilt

Ahmedabad: He's a smooth operator who will try impress you with his bike stealing skills. When confronted with his crime, he will nonchalantly tell you he didn't steal for money but for fun. This is not a habitual offender we are talking about, but a 15-year-old boy studying in class X currently in the custody of Naroda police station.
Crime is catching them young.Naroda police station inspector KB Khant tells TOI they recently caught three minors in two separate incidents. In both cases, the teens didn't show any guilt for their actions.
"They were quite matter-of-fact. In the first incident, the boy used to go to school with a bunch of keys in his school bag. He had become an expert in unlocking snazzy bikes. He stole to flaunt his wealth before friends, especially girls," says Khant. In the second case, two 12-year-old boys were caught with stolen goods worth Rs 13,000 in Naroda at 3 am. On being grilled, they confessed they had also planned to burgle a paan shop that night. They were part of a group of teens who worked as rag-pickers in the day and targetted shops at night. In both cases, the accused have been sent to the juvenile observation home at Khanpur.
A 13-year-old boy was recently caught in Ramdevnagar, Satellite, when he was fleeing from a house with goods worth Rs 23,000. In another case, a woman sitting in a car parked near Pritamnagar was lured to step out with a bait of Rs 10 notes. In a flash, a 10-year-old boy opened another door and stole her purse full of cash and jewellery. "We believe in many cases children are used by small-time crooks," says Ellisbridge police station inspector JB Gadhavi.