Across the country, teenage gang culture has taken on a horrendous shape. Juveniles are being used in various criminal activities under political umbrella. Their crime patterns are also changing with time.
Teenagers are getting involved in various crimes from dominating the area, extortion, theft and robbery to murder. They are also being used in drug trade and extortion.
In 17 years, 120 people were killed by juvenile criminals in Dhaka. Out of this, 34 people have been killed in the last 2 years. More than four hundred teenagers have been accused in these incidents.
Teenagers are gradually becoming unstoppable by being involved in various crimes. Most of the youth gangs are supported by the local leaders of the ruling party. Youth gangs are being formed in neighborhoods to express 'heroism'. According to law enforcement sources, a major operation will be launched soon to prevent the activities of the youth gang members.
Juveniles are getting involved in murders due to various crimes including domination, senior-junior conflicts, love disputes, drugs. Recently analyzing the incidents of murders by juvenile gangs, it has been found that local 'big brothers' control juvenile gangs in various areas. There have also been cases of underworld killings in Dhaka using teenagers and young people.
According to a recent report by an intelligence agency, there are 34 youth gangs active in Dhaka. RAB report mentions that half a hundred youth gangs are active in Dhaka.
However, it has been found that hundreds of youth gangs are active in Dhaka. Most juvenile gangs are active in Mirpur and Uttara areas of Dhaka. About half a hundred youth gangs are active in these two areas. Youth gang members are involved in crimes like murder, drugs, extortion and robbery. Especially the youth gang members of Mirpur area are involved in terrible crimes under the umbrella of local political leaders. Experts say that the youth gang culture has taken a terrible shape under the political umbrella.
Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor Abdullah Abu Jugantar told that juvenile gangs are being formed due to various reasons. First they get involved in petty and then big crimes. Godfathers control them.
According to responsible sources, several law enforcement agencies are planning to enter the field at the beginning of the new year to bring the youth gang members under the law. In the meantime, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Shafiqul Islam has ordered the preparation of a list of juvenile gangs in the suburbs of Dhaka. Taking the list, RAB has also prepared to start the operation.
Director General (DG) of RAB Chowdhury Abdullah Al Mamun told Jugantar that our position against juvenile gangs is zero tolerance. Many campaigns have been conducted in the past. A lot of work has been done by RAB recently. The number, names and addresses of gang members by area have been collected. According to the updated list, a major operation will be conducted soon.
DMP's Joint Commissioner (Crime) Shah Abid Hossain told Jugantar that raids are being carried out when there is information about youth gangs being active. Necessary action is being taken after investigation. It is an ongoing process. Besides, we have some observations in this regard, we are also working on that.
The killing is going on: On August 30 this year, a teenager Munna was hacked to death in Dhaka's Wari due to the dominance of two groups. On September 7, Kishore Jabbar was murdered due to a senior-junior conflict at Sabuj Bagh. On March 21, 2019, Kamrul Hasan Hriday was killed in a clash between 'Bigg Boss' and 'Kashmiri' groups in Uttarkhan. The teenager was a member of 'Bigg Boss' group. Not just three incidents, but 34 murders by juvenile gangs in two years.
It is known that earlier cases of children and adolescents were tried in the children's court of Dhaka. Since January 19, 2019, the trial of these cases is going on in 9 women and children torture suppression tribunals in Dhaka. As of November 31, 2018, 86 murder cases have been tried in Dhaka's children's court. These murders occurred in 15 years from 2004 to 2018. In the next two years, 34 more murders took place in Dhaka.
After the killing of Adnan Kabir in Uttara in January 2017, the activities of Kishore gangs came into discussion. At that time, operations were started against juvenile gangs across the country including the capital. After a few days, the campaign began to slack off. Over 30 murders have occurred at the hands of juvenile gangs in the capital in two years as violence has increased.
Theft, robberies, robberies and drug involvement: According to several intelligence sources, a large number of juvenile criminals live a floating life in different areas of the capital. They are involved in various criminal activities in railway lines and slum areas. They are especially involved in drugs, robbery and robbery.
According to the RAB report, 50 youth gangs are active in different areas of Dhaka. Among them, 22 gangs are active in Uttara and 10 in Mirpur. Besides, multiple gangs are active in Tejgaon, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Hazaribagh, Mohakhali, Bangshal, Mugda, Chawkbazar and Shyampur. The report also said that juvenile gang members are more involved in crimes like murder, robbery-extortion, molestation and extortion and drug dealing. In many cases they have some 'big brother' in the society in the role of regulator or patron.
It is learned that the arrested juveniles are kept in three juvenile development centers in the country. Most of the juveniles are accused of murder, robbery, extortion, drugs, weapons and explosives, women and child abuse, pornography, IT cases.
According to RAB, 292 juvenile criminals have been arrested by RAB from 2017 to November 2020. Most of the robbers floating in different areas of the country including the capital are teenagers. They are not only involved in robbery but also involved in robbery, drugs and extortion.
In the middle of last year, 14 members of the youth gang called 'First Hitter Boss' or 'FBAH' were arrested from Uttara in the capital. They were involved in criminal activities like drug consumption, ragging, robbery and obscenity.
Three members of the youth gang named Lez to Page were arrested from Sutrapur on charges of drug dealing, extortion and extortion. In August of the same year, 46 juveniles were arrested from various areas including Caravan Bazaar, Farmgate, Railway Line Basti. In September of the same year, 42 juveniles were arrested from different areas of Mirpur.
Expert opinion: Associate Professor of Social Welfare and Research Institute of Dhaka University Touhidul Haque told Jugantar that people involved in juvenile gang culture form different groups periodically. They have different dress codes, different hairstyles, different mannerisms. They try to dominate the area. They get involved in various criminal activities. They try to raise money in various ways. They also act as a complementary force to any 'big brother' in the area.
