Minor & Erred: Doing right by the juveniles in Bengaluru

When survival became difficult, Mahadesh Naik (name changed), now 33, started stealing construction materials. “I was just 6 then. My father was a drunkard and abusive. My mother passed away when I was in class 1. I dropped out of Class 4 and ran away from my home in Gottigere. I used to earn Rs 50-60 a day stealing.” He was caught by police in 2005 after the gang he was a part of got into a fight with another gang. Mahadesh stayed in an observational home for 10 months before he was sent to the juvenile special home run by ECHO (Empowerment of Children and Human Rights Organisation), a non-profit organisation.

Everything changed in his life since then, for his own good. Mahadesh completed his schooling, passed his B Com with a distinction from Christ University, and found a job. He now works as an assistant manager and is happily married with two kids. Mahadesh says he regrets stealing, but he’s glad that he was “caught by the police”.

A rights-based approach
Until 2000, kids in conflict with law were caught and taken to observational or remand home. “It was called custodial care,” says Dr Anthony Sebastian, founder and executive director of ECHO.

“It then changed to a rightsbased approach where it is understood that even though they have committed an offence due to their circumstances in life, they still have their rights as a human and every child has a right to basic needs.”

The Karnataka govt has signed an MoU with ECHO to run the special home. Sebastian is a former member of the central social audit committee, ministry of women and child development; former chairperson of Karnataka State Commission for Protection of Child Rights; and former member of juvenile justice board, Bengaluru. Mahadesh is one among the 13,000 children — either from the streets or in conflict with law — that ECHO has helped trace back their way to a normal life. The NGO celebrates its silver jubilee this year.

Each district has a juvenile jus tice board, but Bengaluru sees the highest number of cases by minors, says Kalpana Purshottam, member of Juvenile Justice Board, Bengaluru Urban. She attributes this trend to the city’s huge migrant population, with many of their kids being employed as child labourers. “They are lured to work with offers like a plate of biryani or a pair of jeans, or a paltry sum. The socio-economic divide, which is very evident in the city, lack of education, substance abuse and low the tolerance levels push many of these kids towards crime,” she says. Most of these kids have undiagnosed and underlying mental health issues, she adds.

First, he stole tender coconuts
Kiran (name changed) was happy fishing in his village in Mysuru, but he never had enough money to watch a movie at the theatre. At 17, Kiran asked a friend for advice on how to make money. His friend promptly gave him a spool of copper wire, and asked him to sell it. It fetched Kiran Rs 3,000, but as soon as he got out of the film theatre after the show, he was caught by the police. “It was my first time stealing to make money. Until then, I’d only stolen tender coconuts during the summers,” he says. When Kiran was sent to ECHO special home, he couldn’t fit in at first. He ran away but was brought back. Now he is a 19-year-old confident young man, pursuing an internship in hotel management. He is ambitious, and looks forward to working at a 5-star hotel. He wants to take care of his sister, and his mother, who rears goats in their village. His father abandoned the family when he was a toddler.

From peddling drugs to breaking-in
Smiling shyly, 19-year-old Farooq (name changed) says his is a ‘filmy’ story. He fell in love with a girl in class 10 whose brother was a drug addict. He introduced Farooq to drugs. Soon, he and his friends started stealing for money to buy and sell drugs to college students in Bengaluru. He was 16 then. Farooq made a lot of money — he had even rented a 2BHK in Koramangala. But their luck ran out a year later. With no money to buy any more drugs, he and his friends broke into a mobile store in KR market, stole the stock and sold them in different places, but was caught promptly by police. But Farooq says the time he spent at the special home changed his outlook. And he too has started an internship in hotel management.Get real-time updates and result insights on the CBSE 12 Result 2026.