They killed my son without any fault. Whose child dies, understands the pain of losing that child. I want justice for child murder. Shahnaz Begum, the mother of the murdered teenager Ashiq Mia, was speaking the words with regret. Ashiq was killed near a field in the Madhubagh area under the Hatirjheel police station of the capital last Thursday. She lost her child and now she is crazy. The family of the deceased Ashiq Mia alleged that a teenage gang had committed the murder. The murder took place due to a dispute over a badminton game in the area.
The family says that at least 11 people including Moinuddin, Tanveer, Jahangir, Belal, and Rasel are involved in the murder.
Talking to the locals, it is known that these teenagers rehearse with motorcycles in the area from evening to late night. They were beating local people for trivial reasons. There is no misdeed which they do not commit.
According to the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and the police, not only in Madhubagh but in different areas of the capital, many such criminal gangs have been formed with delinquent teenagers. Dominating the area, senior-junior conflicts, love disputes, drugs, and other crimes are involved in these gangs. They are forming gangs, known as 'teen gangs', to commit crimes.
According to RAB sources, the local leaders and activists of the ruling party have the support behind the formation of teen gangs. Teen gang members commit criminal acts by asserting their presence or influence in the area. For example, playing loud music, riding motorcycles at reckless speed, harassing pedestrians and teenagers, attacking common people, etc.
According to the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) list, there are 52 juvenile gangs in the capital. The number of members of these gangs is around 692 in 35 police station areas under eight crime divisions of DMP.
Recently analyzing the incidents of murders by teen gangs, it has been found that local leaders control teen gangs in the areas. They even commit murders. The police found the involvement of teen gang members in a recent murder case in Tejgaon.
According to law enforcement sources, not only in Dhaka but in the entire country, the crime of teen gangs has taken a terrible shape. Their crime patterns are also changing. Teen criminals in Dhaka have killed at least 25 people in the last year.
According to reports from intelligence agencies, teen gangs are most active in Dhaka. Most of the leaders or members of these gangs are separated from their families. Most of them live in slum areas. However, many school-college students also get involved in these circles. Mirpur division has the highest number of teen gangs among the eight crime divisions of DMP. 172 members of 13 teen gangs are active in this department on the police list. Teen gangs are also active in Tejgaon and Uttara.
A list of arrests of teen gang members has been made by RAB. According to the information in that list, 349 teen gang members were arrested in RAB operations last year. RAB spokesperson Commander Khandaker Al Moin said that RAB's activities will continue in the future to prevent this inactivity.
He said that from 2017 to last year, RAB arrested 1,126 teen gang members. Among them, 30 were fined and 10 were handed over to their families on bond.
According to the DMP list, there are currently as many as 64 members of teen gangs in six circles in the Uttara area. Among them are the criminal gangs named Disco Boys, Young Star Group, Bigg Boss, Nine Star Group etc. According to DMP's Mirpur police list, the Pallabi Thana area has the highest number of teen gangs in the Mirpur area. Ashiq Group is one of them. There are about 25 members in this gang. Raju Group, Rocky Group, Romantic Group, Musa Group, and Sohail Group are also active in the Mirpur area.
Ashiq Mia, who was killed in Madhubagh on January 9, lived in the Mirbagh area. He was working in a motor garage in that area. A murder case has been filed in Hatirjheel police station in this incident.
Sub-Inspector (SI) Tamez Uddin, investigating officer of the case, said that it was alleged that Ashiq was killed over a badminton game. Suspects involved in the killings are alleged to be members of a teen gang. Efforts are on to arrest them.
On May 22 last year, school student Siam Khan was publicly hacked to death in Basupara of Lalkuthi area of Darussalam police station of the capital. Earlier on May 10, a student was killed in a junior-senior conflict in front of Dania College. According to the police, it is alleged that the teen criminal gang is behind these two murders.
Muhammad Abdul Alim, Professor of Criminology and Police Science Department of Maulana Bhasani University of Science and Technology, said that teenagers are now getting involved in various crimes in society. They should be brought under control. But they cannot be controlled only by police action. Family and social initiatives are needed in this case. Political leadership should also come forward.
ARS
