Goa:Artful Dodgers pose a headache for cops

Artful Dodgers pose a headache for cops
Preetu Nair | TNN

Panaji: Criminal gangs employing children to do the dirty deed are rising in Goa. Not only are children often not suspected, but if caught, the real felon escapes. “There are several criminal gangs using children to commit thefts. Such incidents are increasing and their exploitation by criminal elements in shop and house breaking is a matter of grave concern for us,” said SP (South) Shekhar Prabhudessai.
On an average three to four children in conflict with the law are admitted to Apna Ghar every month. “Some of the children are repeat offenders as there is no proper rehabilitation in place for such kids,” says Beethoven Fonseca, member of the Juvenile Justice Board.
Prabhudessai admitted that when children involved in thefts are caught, the police are unable to take them into custody or interrogate them. “In this way, the mastermind in the thefts goes scot free,” says Prabhudessai. “The Juvenile Justice Act gives blanket exemption to a person below 18 years of age, due to which provisions of the Act are misused by criminal elements,” says Carlos Ferreira, assistant solicitor general of India.
On September two, gold jewellery worth Rs 1.80 lakh was stolen from a house metres away from the Margao police station. Police suspect the thieves sent a child into the house by making a small hole in the bathroom window.
Just two days earlier, two boys (both about 10 years old) were caught by the Margao police for attempting to indulge in petty thefts. They were sent to Apna Ghar, home for children in conflict with law, as well as for children in need of care and shelter.


It’s an organized racket in which children are brought from other states and forced into crime in Goa. Once the act is done, they are sent back home, said Ezilda Sapeco, member of the Commission for Protection of Child Rights. These kids usually come from Karnataka, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh or Rajasthan.
Explaining the modus operandi of the criminals, a police official said, “The most commonly adopted pattern is breaking into a home by making a small hole in the window or bending the shutters of a shop from the middle within one foot of the ground, to enable a child to enter.”
The official said that there have also been instances when a mother carrying a baby indulges in chain snatching at crowded places. “The baby is used to ensure that she doesn’t draw people’s attention by her suspicious movement. Sometimes
children are also used for pickpocketing. It is difficult to get anything out of the children as they are tutored and we can’t be harsh with them,” the official added.
Child activist Bernie D’Souza from Jan Ugahi said, “In most cases, youth use younger vulnerable street children, mostly from incapacitated families. But there are a few cases wherein parents, due to poverty have initiated their children into crime.”
Maintaining that catching these kids and sending them to Apna Ghar is not the solution, D’Souza said, “There are no new skills taught to them nor is there any rehabilitation programme in place. Once they come out of the home, they are back on the street, with no help and are further lured into the world of crime.”
NGOs say that rehabilitation of children is most important. “If children are caught, the punishment is minuscule and they are happy to be at the state run home as they get free shelter and food. There is no effort made to rehabilitate them and help them lead a better life,” says activist Auda Viegas.

September 13, 2008, The Times of India, Goa edition