Education important to avoid creating future criminals: Priyanka Chopra

Education is an important aspect of avoiding the creation of future criminals, said National Award winning actress Priyanka Chopra, while commenting on the release of the juvenile involved in the 2012 Delhi gang rape.

Priyanka was here for a Unicef event when she was asked to comment on the Juvenile Justice Bill, which provides for the trial of those between 16 and 18 years of age as adults for heinous offences.

She said that the gravity of the crime still sends shock waves in her mind, and that commenting on the case is a "tricky" slope to walk on.

"That is an extremely heinous crime. As a woman, I'm not just appalled and shocked but I am amazed that children can be capable of something that heinous. Secondly, I believe that investing time on adolescents is very important during their rehabilitation, and educating boys that they should not indignify a woman (sic).

"It is a tricky situation when it comes to this case, but I do believe that when dealing with crimes like this, the focus should be on education and rehabilitation of the children so that we don't create future criminals. And how it is done needs to be taken individually," she said.

The juvenile was held with five other men for the brutal rape and murder of the woman paramedical student on December 16, 2012, and was tried under the Juvenile Justice Act. He was put in a remand home for three years, and released on Sunday after completing his sentence, amid protests by the parents of the victim and others in the national capital.