Government to Form Committees in Every Upazila to Curb Teen Gangs; 484 Arrested in Capital in a Day

The government has decided to form committees in every upazila of the country to stop juveniles from getting involved in crimes including snatching, extortion, brawls and killings. According to a Home Ministry notice issued on Monday (October 19), the committees will be formed with the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) as president and the officer-in-charge (OC) of the concerned police station as member-secretary.

The decision aims to build a coordinated local-level structure to prevent teen gang activity. However, the notice did not give details on the number of committee members, their scope of work, or when they will start functioning.

The decision comes at a time when drives against teen gangs are under way across the country. According to various sources, more than 1,500 juveniles have been arrested over gang links in the past month and a half. Even so, concern over their menace in neighbourhoods has not subsided.

In recent weeks, anti-gang drives have been carried out in Cumilla, Chandpur, Brahmanbaria, Chattogram and other areas. In Cumilla, several rounds of drives reportedly detained more than 2,000 people.

However, not all those detained in these drives are teen gang members; suspects involved in various other crimes are among them. The overall arrest numbers, therefore, should not be treated as the number of gang members, those concerned say.

Another reason for concern despite the drives is the added pressure on child development centres. According to data published by the Department of Social Services, the boys’ child development centre at Tongi in Gazipur holds 693 juveniles against a capacity of 300, while the Pulerhat centre in Jashore holds 303 against a capacity of 150. Ensuring care, counselling, education and rehabilitation opportunities for juveniles at these centres has thus become important.

Dr. Touhidul Haque, associate professor of Social Welfare at the University of Dhaka, believes arresting juveniles alone will not remove the roots of the problem. According to him, in some areas gangs grow under the shelter of politically known figures. The influential people and patrons behind these groups need to be brought under the law.

Experts say poverty, lack of education, unemployment, the spread of drugs and the absence of social security can push juveniles towards criminal groups. Group identity, the desire to show influence and the shelter of so-called “big brothers” also attract them, while the tendency to display power on social media can play a role as well.

Experts say that alongside legal action against juveniles involved in crime, it is essential to identify the adults who use them in crime. At the same time, juveniles must be brought back to education, with family-based supervision, counselling and skills development.

Former inspector general of police Muhammad Nurul Huda believes preventing teen gangs cannot depend on the police alone; a coordinated social initiative is needed. From this view, the committees need effective participation from the social services department, educational institutions, guardians and local social organisations alongside the administration and police.

Meanwhile, regular drives continue in the capital. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested 484 people in drives across the capital in the last 24 hours, with 53 cases filed over various crimes during this time. DMP Deputy Commissioner Md. Aktar Hossain shared the information on Monday morning.

Among those arrested, the highest number — 150 — came from the Mirpur division. Others include 76 from Tejgaon, 68 from Motijheel, 50 from Wari, 41 from Lalbagh, 37 from Ramna, 35 from Uttara, 18 from Gulshan, 7 from the Detective Branch (DB) and 2 from the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) division.

During the drives, police recovered 560 grams of cannabis, 4,373 yaba pills, 3 grams of heroin and 204 bottles of phensedyl. Also recovered were 9 motorcycles, 26 mobile phones, 405 SIM cards, one auto-rickshaw and Tk 1,505 in cash. One victim was also rescued during this time.

All in all, the government’s new initiative has created an opportunity to build a coordinated prevention system at the local level. But forming committees is not the final solution — the initiative is more likely to bear fruit if accountability of those involved in crime is ensured, action is taken against patrons, and juveniles are given a path back to normal life. The committees’ scope of work and start date now remain to be seen.