Ranchi, June 22: Juvenile crime is clearly on the rise in the state.

A survey done by an NGO called Bal Sakha threw up startling details. According to the result, an average of two crimes were committed every month in both urban and rural areas.

According to chief coordinator of Bal Sakha Sanat Sinha, there were more than 7,000 cases of juvenile crime in the 41 districts of Bihar and Jharkhand.

In Jharkhand, Hazaribagh topped the list with 517, followed by Giridih (295) and Daltonganj (123). (Check the chart)

Bal Sakha was established in 1985 to protect children kept under state custody and fight for humane living conditions in remand homes.

?During the course of our survey, we found that most children were resorting to crimes due to lack of proper guidance from their guardians. There were several cases where the child committed a crime because they wanted attention from their parents. Sometimes, they are too protected. There are more than 500 children in the Ranchi remand home,? the coordinator said.

The Coordinator of Anti-Trafficiking and Sexual Exploitation of Children, Jharkhand chapter, Sanjay Kumar Mishra, said the situation had become almost alarming.

?We have found that in the maximum number of cases the child had committed crime for the money. In certain cases, especially in rural areas, the minors are instigated by neighbours or relatives. We have received more than 50 per cent cases related to petty thefts and 20 per cent cases related to love affairs,? added Mishra.

?The Child Welfare Committee has been formed but has not been implemented just like the Juvenile Justice Act. There is no proper infrastructure to deal with juvenile crimes in the state,? he added.

?There has been a 300 per cent rise in juvenile cases. The situation is so bad that the government needs to act right now,? said Mishra.

According to former professor of psychology department, Ranchi University, S.P Singh, children committing crime was not uncommon.

?The phenomenon is called mal-adjustment. There could be multiple reasons behind the spurt in juvenile crimes. Children of today are a lot more emotionally unstable. Also, they enjoy a greater degree of freedom, which sometimes makes the child indisciplined. Love and jealousy also triggers teenagers to violence. Growing unemployment is also one of the factors behind the increase in juvenile cases,? he said.

A desire to possess materialistic commodities among teenagers also leads to crimes like theft and, sometimes, even murder, said Singh, citing the case of a young boy who killed his mother for a motorcycle.

Associate professor of clinical psychology, Rinpas, L.M Sahu said humiliation and loneliness were among the main causes behind juvenile crimes.

?Juveniles who resort to violence or theft are worried about their past and future. They suffer from a learning disability when in school. In a large number of cases, they are school dropouts,? he said.