Members of teen gangs are now learnt to be turning into hired killers in the capital city and elsewhere in the country. The teen gang members' criminal activities came to light after Shahinuddin, a trader, was brutally attacked and killed by some gang members.
A group of criminals led by Sumon attacked Shahinuddin in front of his son at Pallabi in the city on May 16.
They stabbed him indiscriminately with sharp weapons, leaving him dead on the spot. A video clip of the killing has surfaced on the internet in which Manik and Monir were seen brutally attacking businessman Shahinuddin.
A senior official of the intelligence agency told the Daily Observer on Monday that Manik and Monir also operate a teen gang in the Pallabi area. Former Laxmipur MP MA Awal had allegedly hired Manilk and Monir to kill Shahinuddin, according to sources.
Awal has been made the prime accused in the murder case. Accused Manik and Monir were also killed in shootout by law enforcers recently.
Sumon Bepari, the prime accused of killing Shahinuddin confessed to a magistrate that a 12-member hit-squad was hired on the instruction of the former Lakshmipur lawmaker MA Awal to kill Shahinuddin.
At Pallabi teen gang was run by former BCL leader Suman. Asadur Rahman, an inhabitant of Pallabi area said the gang members were involved in drug dealings and abuse, eve teasing and even murder in the area. Meanwhile, no body protested for fear of reprisal.
It was further learnt that there is a rising trend of teen-gang culture in Dhaka and elsewhere in the country. These gang members are involved in petty crimes, drug dealings and abuse, extortion, theft, eve teasing and even murder. These ferocious gangs are being run by school or college students of the neighbourhood.
A 17-year-old was stabbed to death while another was injured in an attack by their rivals in Dhaka's Sutrapur area on March 30. The victim Ananto, a resident of Dholaikhal's Lalchan area, was a ninth-grader at a local school.
Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) detained 18 members of teen gangs from different areas in Dhaka last week. A total of six sharp weapons and 410 Yaba tablets were recovered from their possessions, the press release added.
The elite force members conducted drives at Dendabar area under Ashulia Police Station, and Diabari area under Shah Ali Police Station last week and detained them, according to RAB sources.
They are involved in various other misdeeds including selling drugs, mugging and stealing by forming gangs in the areas.
By conducting drives, the law enforcement agency tries to give a strong message against the gang culture. .
They are exploiting teenagers especially from careless, disturbed and low-income families by providing them money, mobile phone and support for small crimes.
A government intelligence agency in a report mentioned the existence of 100 such gangs, 40 of which are active in Dhaka and the adjacent areas. There are five gangs in Uttara, three in Dhanmondi, two in Tejgaon, two in Pallabi and one each in Kafrul, Mohammadpur, Turag, New Market, and Joydevpur of Gazipur. Each group has 8 to 10 members.
Happy Rahman, a residence of Mohammadpur, told the Daily Observer that the teenager gangs are involved in drug peddling, mugging and stealing by forming groups in the area.
Mysteriously police do not take any action against them, despite being informed by the victims, he added.
A senior police official of the Mirpur Zone preferring anonymity told this correspondent that law enforcement agencies have already launched drive against the gangs apparently patronized by the ruling party men, he added.
Gang violence - from extortion to drug abuse, eve-teasing to murder - is being reported in Chattogram, Khulna and Sylhet cities as well. And towns like Cumilla are not falling behind in crimes committed by gangs with names like Eagle and LRN.
According to intelligences sources these gangs mainly organize 'parties,' drive motorcycles at high speed and harass girls on the roads. The members of this group are between 13 and 18 years-of-age.
Most of them are children and school-going children of middle and upper-class families. Lower middle class and uneducated teenagers are also in the group having at least 20 to 25 members each.
Though the crackdown on the teen gangs was halted due to legal complications, plans are afoot to launch another operation, according to law enforcement agencies.
