Quick money, thrill lure GenY to crime
This scene could be straight out of a Bollywood flick, unfortunately it isn’t. In a twist of sorts, one girl and two boys robbed an auto driver of his gold chain, ring and Rs 5,000 in the capital recently. In another incident, the Central Delhi police arrested a 25-year-old man, who used to steal vehicles to lead a lavish lifestyle and impress his girlfriends. The accused Praveen Kumar is involved in at least eight cases of murder, motor vehicle thefts and burglary. He would take his girlfriends on a drive in stolen cars to impress them. Both incidents highlight the desperate need for youngsters to lead a lavish lifestyle and to achieve that, they can do anything. Is it peer pressure or the thrill to be on the wild side?
Commenting on the above two incidents, Delhi University student Molly Gambhir opines, “It could be that these young people didn’t have adequate money to live their normal life. This urge is there inside everybody. We pretend to be something else in front of our friends. Even if our essentials are met, we aspire for the next level. Some do wrong just for the thrill of it, and if not caught, they are motivated to attempt it again.”
“But it is a necessity to impress the opposite sex,” avers Akshay Arora, a student. “Boys do such things to impress their partners like bring expensive cars from friends or relatives. Buy their girlfriends expensive gifts, see movies in theatres and eat at luxurious places. Even a middle-class boy would do anything to impress his gal. It is boyish nature to show off and yes there is peer pressure as well. But all this isn’t a big deal among friends. It is like a guy code. You got to help another man. So, usually guys lend stuff like phone, watch, money or maybe a car. In extreme cases, some might turn to stealing also,” he adds. Akshay reveals that pressure gets to boys at an early age. He recalls a boy from his school who had the maximum girlfriends and used to be a regular at pubs. “He crossed limits with teachers ‘as influenced from movies’, he thought teachers se pange lena easy hai, but he landed in big trouble and was suspended from school.”
Delhi Police spokesperson Rajan Bhagat says, “We do come across such cases where to lead a lavish life, youngsters commit crime. Need for quick money makes many take to crime.” Psychologist Dr Geetanjali Kumar says, “I saw a similar trait in a Class 5 student, who after coming back from vacation lied to his classmates that he spent his holidays in Japan, Las Vegas as he wanted to be at par with his fellow students. A child that young can understand how he is different from his peers. There are those who take a loan to impress their girlfriends. Meaning of success has changed today, feelings have replaced by materialistic things.”
Post new comment