'Juvenile' hired for court shoot-out during Tihar visit

The attempt to kill criminal Chanu Pehelwan alias Irfan at east Delhi’s Karkardooma Court Complex was hatched by gang rival Nasir loged in Tihar Jail.

Nasir had met one of the accused when the ‘juvenile’ went to the jail in west Delhi to meet a relative on a visitor’s day.

Police said Nasir’s gang has been taking advantage of the law which states that juveniles would not be punished for more than three years.

“Nasir did not use his gang members to kill Irfan, but had hired the juveniles. They had been lured with cash and were under the influence of drugs before leaving to carry out Wednesday’s attack,” said a police officer.

The probe so far has revealed that they had conducted a recee during Irfan’s last hearing. They also have criminal history. One of the attackers was involved in the murder of a minor in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar in August 2014.

Sources said local police are aware of most of such juveniles in their area, but they do not keep a record of these minors. Over the years, there has also been an increase in data of juveniles’ involvement in crimes in the city.

Last year, 2,547 juveniles were apprehended compared to 1,572 juveniles taken in custody in 2012 – a 62 per cent increase.

Of the 2,547 arrested, 1,252 belonged to families having annual incomes of less than Rs 25,000, according to National Crime Records Bureau.

Till June, 1,180 juveniles were apprehended for crimes ranging from thefts to rapes and murders.

“Some of these children are as young as 10 years. The analysis of the cases also shows that not all the crimes are committed on the spur of the moment. Some crimes were planned before being successfully executed,” said Ravindra Yadav, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime).

Due to the current situation, police have been adopting various strategies to discourage teenagers from joining criminals. Counselling sessions are regularly held for apprehended juveniles.

Delhi Police Commissioner Bhim Sain Bassi had earlier suggested to make moral education compulsory for boys in schools and colleges.

“Schools and colleges must look for deviant behaviour among boys and provide a system to ensure that they are corrected through counselling by psychologists,” Bassi had said in October.

On Wednesday, Irfan was in court in a case registered with Seelampur police station in 2012. The FIR was registered on the basis of a woman’s statement.

She alleged that Irfan and another criminal Barma had threatened her father over a property dispute. Irfan also faces prosecution in at least 23 cases in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

The court has so far rejected a plea seeking video conferencing of the high-risk undertrial.