119 of 842 Held in Cyber Crimes in Mewat in '24 Minors: Police

The Mewat region of eastern Rajasthan has become a hub of cybercrime with an increasing number of minors taking to crime due to the lure of easy money and lack of employment opportunities in the region, according to official data.

- Suresh Foujdar

BHARATPUR:

The Mewat region covers significant areas of three districts – Bharatpur, Deeg, and Alwar – spreading across five sub-districts: Kaman, Deeg, Kumher, Nagar, and Pahari.

According to data collected from the Bharatpur Range Inspector General's office, at least 119 accused are minors of the total 842 accused who were detained for their alleged involvement in cybercrimes in 2024.

It also showed that at least 460 belong to the age group of 18–25, while 178 are 25 to 30 years old, 65 are 30 to 40 years old, 16 are 40 to 50 years old, and only 4 are 50 to 60 years old.

"The data clearly indicates that the number of minors is higher in cybercrime. If we can ensure education for the minors, we might be able to stop their entry into the cybercrime business in the future," said Deeg Superintendent of Police Rajesh Meena.

He further said: "A huge dropout rate in Mewat's schools last year has raised our concern regarding the future of Mewat's youth. If we count the accused of cybercrime cases of all ages who were arrested so far, most have not studied beyond Class V. It is a big indicator that education is a need of the hour in Mewat."

According to data from the Child Welfare Committee Bharatpur, 227 minors between the ages of 13 and 17 from January 1, 2024, to December 31, 2024, were detained by police from isolated parts of Mewat in Deeg district.

Twenty-four minors were detained in January this year. All juveniles were sent to Bharatpur's child welfare committee.

HT spoke to four of the minors, aged 13 to 17, who were arrested by the police under Section IT for cyber frauds. They said: "We learned techniques of cybercrime from neighbors who have been involved in cybercrimes to cheat people through social media sites."