Editorial: Heal and Restore Lost Youth

A young boy who could not be a day over 17 was picked up at the Tadong police out-post in the capital on Tuesday night. He was holding on to a consignment of Spasmo-Proxyvon, but this was detected only after he was taken to the OP. He was initially picked up when he was caught sneaking into an unlocked car. This was around 11 in the night, not an hour when a teenager should be out on a week-day. He was just loitering, perhaps trying to figure out how to get past the police outpost below, and noticed when a car pulled up and the driver left it unlocked. The moment the driver was out of sight, the kid slipped into the car, but was noticed by a resident. When approached, the youth took to his heels. Nothing was missing from the car. Shortly after, he stepped out of one of the bylanes where he had been hiding and was recognised and handed over to a police patrolling team. A body search led to the recovery of around 75 capsules of Spasmo Proxyvon – about four days worth of supplies for an advanced addict. Whether he himself was under the influence of this much abused prescription drug, only a proper medical check could have established. He insisted that he was not from Gangtok and received a call on his mobile phone and beseeched the caller, whom he called “Agya”, to get him out of the ‘problem’ he had landed into. No Agya showed up, and Sikkim now has one more booking under the Sikkim Anti-Drugs Act.
The incident is shared in detail because it flags the several issues which confront Sikkim at present, none of which are being addressed in earnest or with any success. The youth was obviously holding the consignment for someone and is in all probability addicted himself. There is also obviously someone [not necessarily one person but could be a series of ‘seniors’] who initiated him into the maze of addiction, may be even sponsored the habit initially and now uses the control to even use the kid as a mule in a stereotypical process of the young are sucked in and then left trapped in the vortex of addiction and then criminality. The near instinctive reflex to seize an opportunity for petty crime, as displayed by the youth when he slipped into the unlocked vehicle also suggests that he does not have the resources to feed his addiction – whether to drugs or gadgets. Over interpretation? Perhaps. But definitely close enough to the ground reality for a sizeable chunk of the youth in the region to warrant a concerted societal engagement. Petty crimes by young delinquents have noticeable increased in Sikkim and addiction has been building up as a major malady for a while now; and yet, at the non-governmental, non-police level there has been no response. This is not about fixing blame, but an appeal to begin a social engagement to address the problem. It is also important that instead of pointing fingers, a collaborative effort is attempted to save the young. The present response to the situation punishes and excludes people, who, because of their young age, should be seen as victims in need of healing and inclusion. It is time to stop dealing with the symptoms of youth crime and put some community-based participatory effort into solving the underlying problems.