Juvenile criminals rule the ‘badlands’ of Madangir, Dakshin Puri in south Delhi

‘A criminal is a criminal irrespective of age and deserves punishment.’

The recent arrest of a minor, a resident of Madangir, in a murder case in Neb Sarai area of South Delhi has once again brought back the focus on the most infamous neighbourhood of the national capital—Madangir and Dakshinpuri.

The Sunday Guardian investigation discovered that the area, which was once home to four notorious gangs of Delhi, is now reeling under the threat of young criminals. These young boys are neither afraid of the police nor the law.

“Police humse darti hai, hum police se nahi. Yeh humara ilaaka hai yaha koi tension nahi hai. ( Police is scared of us and not the other way around. It’s our area not theirs),” said a teenager, who identified himself as Zunaid and was openly selling marijuana on a busy street of Madangir with a police van not more than 200 metres away.

The juveniles in these areas get involved in serious crimes like murder, robbery and rape as early as 14 years of age, a police official told The Sunday Guardian.

Delhi’s South-East district police recently apprehended the 17-year old with two country-made pistols and two live cartridges from Madangir area. The minor was allegedly involved in four cases, including murder and attempt to murder. Police claims that the juvenile was first apprehended in 2014, when he was 14 years old, in connection with a murder of a man in Ambedkar Nagar area of South Delhi. On being asked about the specifics of the juvenile, the police revealed that the juvenile justice laws not only provide confidentiality protection to minors but also prohibit the police from recording the crime.

The police further told this newspaper that the lack of basic services like education and decent living standards coupled with government’s inability to engage the youth productively is pushing the youngsters into crime.

“Areas like Madangir and Dakshin Puri are characterised by poverty and lack of basic services like good education. Moreover, the government has not been able to engage the youths’ energy productively. As a result, more and more youth from such areas are slipping into a world of crime at a very tender age,” the police official said. The labyrinths of Madangir and Dakhsin Puri lead to the hotbeds of the most notorious juvenile criminals in the national capital.

While the residents of Da- kshinpuri are scared to raise a voice against continuous gang wars in the area, the street vendors on the dingy lanes of Madangir are tired of shelling out hefty amounts to these young goons in order to put up their stalls.

“We often hear firing and quickly lock ourselves inside our homes. Chain snatching is nothing, we often see a dead body lying in drains. We are stuck here as other places in the city are costly to live,” said a resident of Dakshin Puri, who didn’t want to be named.

Even the auto-rickshaw drivers invariably refuse to pick up a ride to Dakshin Puri after the dark. However, if they agree they overcharge. And in case of Madangir, they by default assume the passenger either wants to visit a cheap prostitute or buy marijuana. The auto drivers unanimously told this newspaper that it’s not safe to be in these neighbourhoods after the night sets in.

“I can drop you on the main road and from there you have to go on your own. It’s a murder prone area and no one will take you inside after 7pm,” an auto-rickshaw driver told this correspondent. The driver also warned about the pick-pockets and thieves in the area and advised not to enter the locality with anything valuable. According to the Delhi police, about 90% of the juvenile criminals in the city are from Madangir or Dakshinpuri.

Deprived of education and mainstream socio-economic landscape of the national capital, many teenagers get into crimes voluntarily as they find the easiest way to come out of their deprivations. However, a few enthusiastically join the gangs as they want to develop influence in the area.

The Sunday Guardian has learnt that due to indemnity provided by the Indian juvenile delinquency laws, minors are the favourites in the crime world. While the latest amendment in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 treats offenders aged between 16-18 years as adults for heinous offences like rape and murder, these juveniles are lured into crime at an age of 12 to 14 years.

Apart from the chances of less harsh sentences, criminals find it profitable to hire teenagers as they commit crimes for cheap. Based on the nature of crime, the gangs recruit youngsters and train them accordingly. Many property dealers hire these juveniles to settle money disputes, either by extortion or murder.

“Teenagers in such areas are school dropouts and are socially and economically vulnerable. This makes them easy targets of major criminals. They are screened at a very young age and are trained to snatch chains, pick pockets and rob shops. After graduating from these crimes, they move on to other serious crimes like murders,” said DCP south-east district Delhi, Romil Baniya. The police believes that in absence of proper codification of law in dealing with juvenile criminals, these minors often escape punishment and continue to commit crimes.

“The laws have tied our hands. A criminal is a criminal irrespective of age and deserves punishment. Like the recent murder case in Neb Sarai. The accused is a minor and committed his first murder when he was 14year old. At such a young age, they become seasoned criminals. We cannot even arrest them in police uniforms or disclose their names. We can- not even record their crimes and it becomes difficult for us to even track them once they are released,” said Romil Baniya.

Calling for the amendment in juvenile law a senior police official said, “There should be some codification in the law so that these minors don’t go unpunished or at least without a trial. There can be separate jails where they are kept and made aware of the consequences of their crimes.”

However, the Juvenile Justice Board believes that punishment is not the ultimate solution and the focus should be in creating a conducive environment to productively engage the children from the vulnerable strata of society.

“Punishment is not the solution in case of juvenile criminals. Most of these children are involved in petty crimes like stealing and pick-pocketing. These children come from deprived segments where they have no access to basic services like education or recreational activities. We should focus on proper counselling, reformation and their engagement in schools, followed by skill development programmes linked with employment opportunity,” said Vijay Kumar Pandey, member of Juvenile Justice Board-II.

The juveniles in these areas get involved in serious crimes like murder, robbery and rape as early as 14 years of age.