New Delhi, May 20 : The crime landscape in Punjab is fast changing with terror groups and criminal networks deploying new strategies almost daily to disrupt law and order. While the larger push that is being made is for a separate Khalistan nation, these syndicates at play are carrying out low intensity explosions to keep the state on the boil. The Khalistan networks are also trying to replicate the Mumbai underworld model of grooming juveniles for low-cost, high-success attacks.

The police and Intelligence agencies have stated that the target audience is the youth and these gangster-terror networks are taking advantage of the massive drug problem in the state to undertake recruitments.

However, a particular area of concern that has now come to light is that these syndicates are largely targeting juveniles to be part of their network. In recent weeks, these networks have even recruited boys who are in their 12th standard to undertake attacks.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that these criminal and terror syndicates are using the various loopholes in the law and hence are targeting juveniles. As per the intercepts that the agencies have picked up, there are several mentions made by the recruiters to spot juveniles and rope them into their networks.

The law defines a juvenile as any person under the age of 18. Children above the age of 7 who commit heinous offences are tried by the Juvenile Justice Board. The trial is also held depending on the childâ??s mental capacities and the circumstances of the crime. These persons have the right to anonymity under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Another official explained that the Khalistan terror networks are replicating what the underworld in Mumbai did several years back. In addition to all these safeguards these juveniles enjoy under the law, they also have the advantage of not coming under the scanner of the law enforcement agencies.

A school or college going boy hardly ever is a suspect and hence they have become the preferred choice for recruitments, the officials explained.

Officials say that in addition to all these safeguards, children of such young ages hardly ask any questions. Even their enumerations are not high and this works as an added advantage, officials say. Moreover they do not even understand the consequences of their actions and with ideology not mattering to them either, there is every chance that these persons would get the job done at least 90 per cent of the time, the official explained.

Take for instance the May 6 case that was reported from Chandigarh. A class 12 student was picked up by the police after it was found that he was on his way to Tarn Taran allegedly to carry out a murder.

He was operating at the behest of gangsters based abroad. He was in contact with gangsters Prabh Dasuwal and Gurvinder Singh alias Afridi Tootawala through the social media.

The gangster network learnt that he had got into a fight with another person and was looking for revenge. The gangsters kept in touch with him and groomed him to commit a murder of a rival of the gangster network, investigations found.

An official said that this is one case of where a juvenile was being used to commit a murder of another gangster. Hiring such people also brings in the surprise element into an attack as these persons are unassuming and the suspicion levels are very low, the official added.

The official added that the push to hire more juveniles is also being done with the aim of them being used to carry out grenade attacks. This has been the latest strategy of the ISI-backed Khalistani elements where the modus operandi is to carry out low-cost grenade attacks at strategic locations.

A student would be recruited and be asked to carry a grenade in his school bag. He would then be instructed to hurl it at a location that is designated by the terror group. While doing so, the boy would hardly come under scrutiny and hence the chance of the strike being successful is very high, the official also explained.

In Punjab a massive push is being made by the ISI to ramp up terror attacks. It has over the last couple of years being pushing the Khalistan outfits to carry out strikes in the state and then push for the creation of a separate Khalistan nation carved out of Indiaâ??s Punjab, officials point out.

/IANS