Parents send their children to these “thieves’ schools” at around the age of 12 to 13, where they join local criminal gangs and receive training in these areas.
The “teachers” are gang members and experienced criminals.
The curriculum includes pickpocketing, purse snatching in crowded places, evading the police and enduring beatings. Children are also taught how to gamble and sell alcohol.
A place in a “thieves’ school” costs parents 200,000 to 300,000 rupees (US$2,400 to US$3,600) in tuition fees.
The students mostly come from less educated and impoverished families.
They are trained to fit in with wealthy families and gain access to the most exclusive high society weddings.
After one school year, the teenagers could “graduate” and steal jewelry from the weddings of the rich.
Through underworld training, the teenagers can reportedly earn five to six times their school fees, and their parents can receive an additional annual payment of 300,000 ($3,600) to 500,000 rupees from the gang leaders.
According to police, over 300 children from such schools across India were involved in wedding thefts.
On August 8, a thief stole a bag containing jewelry worth 15 million rupees ($180,000) and 100,000 rupees in cash during a lavish wedding in Jaipur, a city in northwest India.
In March, a 24-year-old bandit who had completed a thieves’ school stole a bag full of jewelry at a wedding in Gurgaon, northern India.
Police Inspector Ramkumar Bhagat said that since most of the criminals are minors, it is “extremely difficult” for the police to take action.
Anyone convicted of theft in India faces a prison sentence of up to seven years and a fine.
However, the country’s legal system is more lenient when it comes to juvenile delinquency, placing emphasis on reform and education.
In addition, the villagers provide protection to petty criminals, making it even more difficult for the police to crack down on the growing underground network of professional thieves.
Such thief schools have attracted a lot of attention on social media.
One online observer wrote: “These children could have used the school fees for a regular education. It is the poor social environment that has led them astray.”
“These parents exploit their children to commit crimes for money. They are unfit parents,” said another.