President of the Meghalaya Pradesh Mahila Congress, Joplyn Scott Shylla, has expressed deep concern over what she said is an alarming rise in crimes involving youth across the country.
In a release today, Shylla stated that while the youth are the backbone of our nation, “the increasing involvement of young individuals in violent and unlawful activities is a matter of serious concern.” This disturbing trend, she added, reflects deeper issues in society, such as unemployment, lack of guidance, mental health struggles, substance abuse and the harmful influence of social media.
Shylla did not refer to any particular crimes or statistics but her comments may have been motivated by the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi. His wife Sonam is aged around 25 and her four co-accused in the brutal killing are between the ages of 19 and 23.
The state Mahila Congress president urged the central and state governments to take urgent and comprehensive steps to address the issue of youth-perpetrated crime through stronger education systems, better youth engagement programmes and strict enforcement of laws. She also called upon communities, educators and parents to play an active role in mentoring and supporting the younger generation.
