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Three remote villages in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh are notorious for hosting “thieves’ schools.” In these bizarre establishments, children as young as 12 are trained by experienced criminals to pickpocket, steal, and rob.
According to Oddity Central, three small villages – Kadia, Gulkhedi and Hulkhedi – located about 120 km from the capital Bhopal of Madhya Pradesh state, are home to “schools” for young criminals. Parents pay “tuition” of between 200,000 and 300,000 rupees (about 60-90 million VND) for their children to be trained in the “art of theft” – such as pickpocketing, snatching bags in crowded places, committing robberies, stealing bank accounts, evading the police and even enduring flogging in case of arrest.
These so-called “thieves’ schools” have produced some of the most notorious criminals in Indian history, and are often sought out by poor families with uneducated parents who cannot afford to give their children a proper education.
After meeting the gang leaders and paying the required fees, parents send their children to a criminal training school for a year to learn various skills and prepare them for a life of crime. After “graduating” and joining the gang, the “students’” families receive an annual payment of 300,000 rupees (VND 90 million) to 500,000 rupees (VND 150 million) from the gang leaders for their services.
“Once we reach these villages, we will deploy teams from several police stations to arrest the criminals. These criminals are well-trained in bag snatching, bank robberies and other crimes, often using minors below 17 years of age to carry out their activities. Most of the thefts are committed by minors, making it difficult to combat this deep-rooted crime,” Ramkumar Bhagat, Inspector of Boda Police Station, told NDTV.
Worryingly, the children being trained in these rural schools of thieves come from poor families, but they are also taught how to blend in with wealthy families to facilitate theft. They often infiltrate special events such as weddings, where they can easily pickpocket guests, steal jewelry or even commit outright robberies.
According to police records, at least 2,000 criminals living in these three villages have committed more than 8,000 crimes registered in police stations across India.
