Villages in Madhya Pradesh where parents pay Rs 200,000 to have minors ‘trained’ in theft

Madhya Pradesh: In a shocking report, three remote villages in Madhya Pradesh, located 117 kilometres from the capital Bhopal, have been brought into the spotlight for their unusual curriculum of training children in the art of “theft, robbery and mugging”. Who would have thought that crime could be taught as a subject in schools? Yet, children in Gulkhedi, Kadiya and Hulkhedi are reportedly being groomed to become criminals, earning these remote villages a notorious reputation as “nurseries” of crime.

Even the police here are said to be proceeding cautiously despite their authority, NDTV reports.

The training process

Parents send their children to these villages as early as 12 or 13 years to get training in criminal activities. It is the parents who decide who will train their children and give them the best “education” after meeting various gang leaders. They pay a fee ranging from ₹2 lakh-₹3 lakh to enroll their children for the training, the report said.

Upon enrollment, children are trained in various criminal skills such as bag snatching in crowded places, running fast, pickpocketing, evading the police and also how to be beaten if caught.

After the child completes a year, the gang leader pays an annual installment of ₹3 to ₹5 lakh to the parents.

According to the NDTV report, these three villages have produced thieves, whose criminal activities have become known all over India.

On August 8, a petty thief stole a bag containing jewellery worth ₹1.5 crore and ₹1 lakh in cash from a grand wedding at the Hyatt Hotel in Jaipur. It was the wedding of the son of a Hyderabad businessman.

The groom’s mother had placed the bag nearby when the bride and groom were being blessed during the ceremony. The little thief seized his chance and fled after stealing the bag.

After committing the theft, his gang fled to Kadiya village in Rajgarh district. To avoid suspicion, they dumped the stolen jewellery and then tried to blend in with the crowd by taking part in a Kanwar Yatra.

Their plan failed, however, due to the rapid investigation that followed. The minor was eventually arrested and the entire gang was exposed.

The ‘daycare centers’ of crime

Jaideep Prasad, Additional Director General of Police (DGP) for law and order, said Rajgarh district is known for villages where such criminals operate with impunity.

“Recently, the Jaipur police chief contacted me about this major theft. Jewellery worth around ₹1.5 crore was stolen at a wedding and we had reason to suspect that the culprits were from Rajgarh. We immediately gathered information and started coordinating with other states,” NDTV quoted him as saying.

He stated that these criminals are so trained that they even possess the skills to estimate the value of jewelry without having to visit a jeweler.

The main activities of gang leaders are training children to steal, gamble and sell alcohol.

Prasad stressed that cooperation between state police forces and swift action have helped the police achieve major breakthroughs in such cases.

Ramkumar Bhagat, inspector of Boda police station, described the challenges faced by law enforcement in these areas: “Whenever we have to go to these villages, we take troops from different police stations to arrest the suspects.”

“These criminals are highly trained in bag snatching, bank theft and other crimes, often using minors under the age of 17,” he added.

He further said that these villages, especially Hulkhedi, Kadiya and Gulkhedi, are often referred to as “daycare centres” or “schools” for crime, where children are trained from a young age to become professional thieves.

“Most of the thefts are committed by minors, which makes it even more difficult to combat this deep-rooted criminal culture,” Bhagat said.

Tendering process for hiring minors from poor families

These villages are extremely secretive, so secretive that the women who walk around here pretend to be hard of hearing when they meet an outsider, the report says.

When a stranger visits the village, the residents become extra alert, especially if they see a mobile phone or camera.

The environment of these villages in Rajgarh district is hostile to any form of control, reflecting the deep-rooted criminal culture. They have become a hotspot for police forces from all over India.

Bhagat stated that more than 300 children from these villages commit theft during marriage ceremonies in various states of India. The gangs operate in a highly organised manner and carry out thorough reconnaissance before implementing innovative tactics in the crimes they commit.

Shockingly, there is also a bidding process where the rich people in the village hire poor children for a year or two for up to ₹20 lakh. After training, the minors often earn five to six times the investment, after which they are released from their respective gangs.

The report reveals that the scale of this criminal operation is enormous. More than 8,000 cases have been registered against over 2,000 people at various police stations in India.