What’s driving teens to heinous crimes in Capital?

As the city was celebrating the beginning of New Year, the national capital witnessed three stabbing incidents in various parts of the city.

On January 1 this year, a 30-year-old man and his two associates were allegedly stabbed to death by a 15-year-old boy in Sultanpuri. The boy had reportedly objected to the man’s relationship with his mother.

On the same day, a 50-year-old tailor was stabbed to death by three boys in the lane near his residence. One of the boys hit his bicycle, following which the tailor reportedly verbally abused them and slapped one of them, leading to an altercation and the eventual murder. Two boys aged 14 years were apprehended in this regard.

These are not the lone cases. Juveniles have been long associated with the crime history of the national capital.

When the word juvenile is mentioned, it brings back memories of the teenager, who was one of the perpetrators in the brutal and violent gang rape of Nirbhaya in December 2012.

This disturbing pattern is visible in the streets of the city. According to police officials, teenagers were once confined to robbery or snatching cases. Trends have changed now as teenagers, some barely in their mid-teens, are increasingly involved in brutal crimes such as stabbings, robberies and violent assaults.

What was once considered rare is now becoming alarmingly frequent, forcing society to confront an uncomfortable question — what is pushing minors towards such extreme violence?

There are multiple answers to it with the prominent one is the growth of digital age. Platforms that reward shock value and instant virality often glorify aggression, street dominance and criminal bravado.

In his report titled ‘Rising Juvenile Crime in India: a Crime against Society or Crime Stemming in Society’, author Virek Aggarwal argued that exposure to violent and inappropriate content online can normalise aggressive behaviour and desensitise juveniles to the consequences of crime. It is a common thing to see that young children, be it from well-affluent families or any strata of society, are getting addicted to mobile phones, and at such tender age they do not have the sense of maturity to understand the contents, which they should watch and is useful to them.

In case of Delhi, this can also be attributed to migration. In a popular OTT series “Paatal Lok”, the areas of East, a northeastern part, have been shown as prone to crime, and these are the areas where most of the migratory population has settled down.

Many families migrating to cities in search of better opportunities end up living in slums and impoverished neighborhoods. These environments are often rife with crime and lack adequate infrastructure and support systems.

Equally troubling is the calculated misuse of laws meant to protect children. The juvenile justice system is designed with reform, not punishment, at its core.

However, criminal networks are increasingly exploiting these safeguards, using minors as tools because they know the legal repercussions are limited. Teenagers, aware that they may escape harsh punishment, are emboldened to commit crimes that adults avoid. This perception of legal immunity fuels recklessness and normalises violence among peer groups.

But the roots go deeper than fame or legal loopholes. Broken family structures, lack of supervision, substance abuse and exposure to violence at an early age create fertile ground for criminal behaviour.

Many juveniles involved in stabbings come from environments where conflict is resolved through force, not dialogue. Schools and communities often fail to intervene early, allowing anger and frustration to fester.