Nepalgunj, October 11:

More and more children are being coaxed into crimes, the police said, adding that flexible laws were to blame.

Superintendent of police in Banke district Uttam Karki said children were coaxed into theft, brawl and even murder cases. Speaking at a Child Justice Awareness programme organised by the Child Justice Coordination Committee and District Court Banke today, SP Karki said the crimes committed by these children are grave.

Banke CDO Narendra Raj Sharma said the juvenile law is not practical and scientific. Assistant attorney- general and member of the Child Justice Coordination Committee, Drona Raj Regmi, said many children were found to have been forced into criminal activities.

Such kids should not be categorised as criminals; they should be sent to reform homes, he said.

Child psychiatrist Binod Kumar Upadhyaya said most children fall into crime after

they are subjected to harsh punishment by their elders.