Arifur Rahman Rabbi :
A teenager named Hasan Mia, 16, was killed at a trivial incident in Mugdar Manda area of the capital. He died because he did not give ‘Salam’ in the seniors-juniors conflict on February 12.
Police already arrested seven people in this connection. They are all members of a teenage gang called ‘Bandage group’.
Not only in Dhaka, but also in various remote areas of the country, teen gangs are now active. There are allegations that influential local political leaders tender them.
The gangs have become reckless. Apart from committed of murder, they are involved with various crimes including rape and drug trafficking, said the police and concerned people.
According to criminologists, teenagers are involved in gang culture for two main reasons. One is the domination of others and the other wants to mentality stay with power. The activities of teenage gangs have increased again across the capital. Although they were not much seen during the covid-19 pandemic period, there have been reported getting involve in various disputes recently.
Members of the teen gang have committed a number of criminal activities during the police operation. Basically, these teenagers are belonging to low-income families, said the DMP’s Detective Branch (DB) Joint Commissioner (JC) Mahbub Alam.It can be heard that the ruling party people patronage such teenagers who come in contact with the law. What information do the police have? In reply, Mahbub Alam said, “No one is being given exemption.”
In 2017, the teen gang culture had come to headline in newspaper after Adnan Kabir, a 14-year-old schoolboy, was beaten to death by his friends of the same age in the capital’s Uttara. Law enforcers then found more than a dozen gangs in Uttara area.
Law enforcement officials say that there are more than 40 teen gangs in the capital. Each gang has 15 to 20 members.
According to them, these gangs are active in Uttara, Turag, Khilgaon, Tongi, Dakshinkhan, Khilkhet, Sutrapur, Demra, Sabujbagh, Kotwali, Mirpur, Mohammadpur, Dhanmondi, Agargaon, Lalbagh and Hatirjheel area.
According to the Bangladesh Children’s Act 2013, the children under 18 who are found guilty of a crime should be sent to a development center instead of imprisoning – so that they can be corrected and bring to normal life.
A teenage gang was involved in the murder of schoolgirl Neela in Savar last September. The main accused of the murder is Mizanur Rahman who is a teen gang leader. And there are allegations that his godfather is a local Juba League leader.
Rakibul Hossain Nijhu, a 16-year-old boy from Dariapara area of Sylhet, was arrested on October 3 in a case of a 14-year-old child rape.
Earlier on August 7, Rakibul and five others were arrested on charges of harassing three expatriates. After being released on bail, a city councilor greeted them with a wreath. Many allege that a local political leader gave them shelter.
Former Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Haque told The New Nation that the teen-gang culture was developing due to lack of necessary direction from family, neighbors, educational institutions and society.
Due to their small age, they were doing lot of things without judging good and bad. There is no doubt that the situation is dire, he added.
The police only cannot do everything here. However, community policing needs to be strengthened to prevent this from happening. On the other hand, family and society have to take responsibility, he further added.
Md Omar Faruque, Professor of Department of Criminology and Police Science at Maulana Bhashani Science and Technology University’s (MBSTU) told The New Nation that those who do politics of power use these teenagers to terrify the area through terror.
He said there should be more emphasis on social control rather than law enforcement taking preventive measures.
Dhaka University’s Sociology Department Professor Dr Nehal Karim said that making life more self-centered is a major reason for the rise of crime among children and adolescents. The children and teenagers show reluctance to the sports and culture of social work and thereby to reckless life.
In such a situation, besides the family, all social organizations should come forward, he said.
