FROM
petty crimes to murder, stalking to rape, mugging to drug abuse -- teen
gangs have been making headlines again for the last few months. These
gangs are often backed by a section of ruling party leaders, who act as
the influential "elder brothers". Most of the gang members trade and
abuse drugs, while some have illegal firearms and local weapons to
show-off their strength. The gangs often engage in turf-war over
trifles.
Over a dozen people have reportedly been killed in the last
four months by juvenile suspects. Criminologists fear that it will be
difficult to rehabilitate the gang members to normal life. In a monthly
crime review meeting on October 18, Dhaka Metropolitan Police
Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam asked police to be vigilant against teen
gangs in Dhaka. The Commissioner asked the DMP's crimes unit to handle
the issue with caution and urged beat policemen to identify the gangs
and keep them under watch. He also said there should be temporary
checkposts across Dhaka to combat gang activities.
Law enforcers say
there are over 40 teen gangs with about 15-20 members in each. The
notorious Nayan Bond's 007 group in Barguna, which killed Rifat Sharif
in broad daylight last year, is a glaring example of the youth gang
culture. The gang was reportedly backed by the son of a top local Awami
League leader. The gang-rape in Noakhali's Begumganj that shocked the
nation recently was committed by a youth gang named Delwar Bahini. In
Begumganj alone, at least two dozen such gangs operate with blessings
from some ruling party leaders, according to reports.
Meanwhile Home
Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said they didn't know whether the
teenage gangs were being sheltered by any political groups --- despite
all the information to the contrary, that they are in effect sheltered
by local political elite-as seen by the two cases highlighted above.
It
is impossible to believe that the police can't stop such gangs --- if
they can stop the radical terror groups dead in their tracks then it is a
simple matter for them to stop such teenage gangs. The main problem
here is that they lack political will to do so. As long as political
parties will use the need for the youth to hide their inadequacies by
giving them a sense of power thru political patronage this situation
will continue. The need for power brings with it the illusion that the
youth who belong to a 'group' are above the law --- especially if they
are sheltered politically. This must stop.