Editorial

Petty Crimes, Bigger Worry
Today’s edition leads with a recap of some criminal transgressions reported over a period of 24 hours [Tuesday-Wednesday] in Sikkim. This is not a jab at spicing news up with some sensationalism, but a conscious effort to flag a development which should attract more attention and deeper introspection by all with a stake in Sikkim.
Crimes and misdemeanours, especially those committed on the spur of the moment and not necessarily planned [like professionals would], have been noticeably consistent occurrences of late. Antisocial activity is now a given for all societies, but that is no reason why it should not be addressed, because it is from this alienation that the more serious crimes are born. The trend of late suggests that a worrying scenario awaits the very near future if something is not done to reinforce the societal involvement which will groom the still-growing generation with more respect for the community and the law.
Even though it remains under investigation, preliminary information on the armed burglary visited on the East Zilla Adhakshya’s house in Gangtok on Wednesday suggests that it was effected when the burglar saw an opening – a well-to-do looking house with only a girl at home. The person was obviously scoping the area, may be even scouting the particular house, but given the fact that he decamped in a hurry and did not loot everything of value which a “professional” would have done, suggests that although he was prepared to commit a crime, he did not have any plans apart from meeting his immediate requirements. This is in contrast with the dacoity reported a few days ago where a gang forced themselves into a house in Simick-Lingzey, Lingdong, wearing masks, carrying weapons and making away with a booty they obviously knew they could fetch. That was a professional job, but the theft over at Luing, again, has the markings of willing, but perhaps not trained, criminality. Opportunistic thefts, shop-lifting and the occasional forced entries make up a majority of the Daily Situation Reports prepared by the cops to keep track of what is keeping their thanas busy. Many such incidents, because they involve minor losses most of the times, are not even reported, so the figure could be higher. While these suggest that there are no organised gangs in operation in Sikkim, it is even more worrying because the common modus operandi suggests that these are handiworks of “normal” youth who are either doing it out of sheer boredom or in desperation to finance their habits or yearnings. And this should be recognised and addressed in earnest, and not by cops, but by the society and its organisations because these are youth who will soon inherit Sikkim and hence need to be rescued and not necessarily punished. Waste any more time, and breaking the law will become even easier for them and soon the experience will make professional criminals out of them. Juvenile delinquency, because that is essentially what a major proportion of “crimes” in Sikkim are about, needs to be rehabilitated and disciplined, not castigated and incarcerated. Every generation is naturally rebellious when it is young, the responsibility of the elder generation is to help channelize this passion to improve things, not destroy…