Himanshu Jetley is a 20 year old aspiring model from Delhi. A picture in the newspapers shows him dressed in a black T shirt with a Megadeath logo, blue jeans and aviator glasses.

He is in the news because he allegedly killed a 24-year-old woman in Delhi a few days ago. The murder was brutal - the victim was hit with an iron rod and then suffocated to death. The motive for the murder was money.

Jetley apparently wanted money to make a modelling portfolio and pay his bills. The extent of his remorse can be gauged from the fact that he took his girlfriend out for shopping, a movie and dinner that same evening after withdrawing Rs 30,000 from the victim's account.

Crimes by the young in our major metros are becoming increasingly common. Figures in 2008 show that one-third of all crimes in urban India were committed in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. And 44.6 per cent of all those arrested in 2006 were between the ages of 18-30. Delhi has the highest level of crime - last year it had more than double the average rate. And Mumbai which was considered a safe city has seen a number of senior citizens being killed in their apartments since 1999.

Better policing is clearly required : The Delhi police reported a drop in the city crime rate this January after it launched various measures including additional patrolling; Mumbai has similar measures planned. But this is not just a law and order problem but a social one.

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