Ranchi police will soon start an awareness programme for school and college students to prevent them from doing anything unlawful out of sheer ignorance.

The programme, which will begin on Wednesday at Ram Lakhan Singh Yadav College in Kokar from 11am, will provide the students with the awareness that their inexperienced actions have consequences.

According to Sadar deputy SP Vikas Chandra Srivastava, children will be told how to prevent themselves from becoming the soft target of criminals, who first befriend them and then make them their prey.

"Students unknowingly give their mobile phones or motorbikes to friends. Sometimes their friends use the bikes and mobile phones to commit crimes. When investigation starts, police, instead of nabbing the actual culprits, harass innocent students. It then becomes difficult for them to prove their innocence and subsequently their career gets ruined," said Srivastava, who had conceived the awareness campaign.

The programme will be organised in other colleges, schools, coaching institutions and hostels in the coming days.

The deputy SP, who used to coach students for various competitive examinations in Hazaribagh before joining police service, said participants would also be made aware of the provisions of IT Act and various cyber laws.

"Legal awareness is also essential for students. This apart, children will also be given guidance on how to excel academically. Students can take our help if they have any career-related problems or if they are unable to chose the right career," he said.

Srivastava also added that students would be told about the difference between an FIR (First Information Report) and sanha (station diary). "They will also be told how to pass on information to police regarding any crime," he said.

NSS coordinator and spokesperson of Ranchi University, Prakash Jha, welcomed the awareness programme, saying Ranchi University would extend all help to police in organising such sessions at colleges under the varsity. "I am happy police have thought in this direction," Jha said.

Lauding the city police's initiative, president of Ranchi Avivak Manch Ajay Rai said parents could not impart legal education to their children and, hence, such legal awareness programmes were the need of the hour.

"Parents come to know about laws when their children land in trouble. If police create legal awareness among students, it will be very helpful for parents also. We will extend all our support to make the police's initiative successful," he said.