Karnataka: Concern over increase in number of children in conflict with law

Rising trend of children in conflict with law in Karnataka poses serious concern, with numbers steadily increasing yearly.

The rising graph of children in conflict with law in Karnataka has become a matter of serious concern.

According to statistics provided by the State Crime Records Bureau (SCRB) to an RTI query posed by Odanadi Seva Samsthe, a Mysuru-based NGO, the number of children below 18 years of age finding themselves on the wrong side of law, booked for petty as well as serious offences, appears to be only increasing over the last four years.

Sharing the data with The Hindu, Parashuram M.L., a founder-director of Odanadi Seva Samsthe, which is engaged in the rescue and rehabilitation of sexually-exploited women and children, said the involvement of children in not only petty crimes, but also serious offences like robberies and rape was a matter of grave concern.

He also sought to highlight the menace of drug addiction among children, who are not only joining gangs, but are also themselves forming gangs that prey on other children vulnerable to drug addiction.

The data shared by the SCRB reveals that urban areas like Bengaluru City and Mysuru reported a high number of cases involving children in conflict with law.

Pointing out that children were a reflection of the society’s future, Mr. Parashuram emphasised the need for the State government as well as parents to take necessary steps to tackle the situation arising out of children coming in conflict with law.

Making an effort to identify the causes that bring children in conflict with law, Mr. Parashuram said broken families, deviant parents, toxic neighbourhoods or parents having huge debts that force children to work and earn money, were some of the causes.