Police detained 415 people in a coordinated anti-teen gang operation conducted across 18 police stations in Cumilla. The operation was carried out from 7 p.m. on Sunday (September 27) until midnight by the district police in coordination with the Detective Branch (DB).
Lutfor Rahman, media officer and additional superintendent of police of Cumilla District Police, provided the information around 2 a.m. on Sunday night.
Police said the operation targeted areas where teen gang activities have been reported, gathering spots for teenagers and locations considered prone to criminal activities. Authorities are currently screening those detained to determine whether they are involved in criminal activities. Legal action will be taken against those found involved in offences, police said.
Lutfor Rahman said, “The operation was conducted in various places where teen gang activities exist, gathering spots for teenagers and crime-prone areas. The continuous operations over the past few days have brought a sense of relief among the people of Cumilla, while criminal activities are also declining. We want to continue these operations to control juvenile crime.”
He said the detained individuals are being screened to determine their involvement in criminal activities and that necessary legal measures would be taken after the verification process. He added that such operations are being conducted regularly to prevent teenagers from becoming involved in criminal activities.
Police had conducted similar operations in Cumilla on Wednesday and Saturday nights. A total of 878 people were detained during those two operations. Of them, 597 were released into the custody of their families after signing undertakings, while legal action is being taken against the remaining 281 over various allegations.
With the latest operation, police have detained a total of 1,293 people in three anti-teen gang drives conducted across Cumilla over the past five days.
Earlier on Saturday night, Kotwali Model Police Station conducted raids in different parts of Cumilla city and detained 48 people. Police initially identified at least four of them as members of teen gangs.
Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Touhidul Anwar said around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday that police had conducted raids in areas where teen gang members gather and allegedly attempt to engage in criminal activities.
He said preliminary information indicated that one of those detained was a member of a prominent teen gang, while another was linked to a different gang. Police were conducting further inquiries into their backgrounds and reviewing their previous criminal activities.
Earlier on Wednesday night, police conducted a simultaneous anti-teen gang operation across all 18 police stations in Cumilla. A total of 624 people were detained. Of them, 451 were released into the custody of their families after signing undertakings, while legal action was taken against the remaining 173 over various allegations.
Later, an operation conducted from 8 p.m. on Saturday until late at night resulted in 254 people being detained. Among them, 146 teenagers were released into their families’ custody after signing undertakings. Legal action is being taken against the remaining 108 over allegations including teen gang-related offences, drug dealing and consumption, regular criminal cases, mobile court proceedings, links to banned organisations and arrest warrants.
During Saturday’s operation, Kotwali Model Police Station detained 37 people from different parts of the city. Police said five of them were directly involved with teen gangs.
According to police, the five were active members of the city’s prominent “Ratan Group” or “R Squad”. One of those detained was Anisur Rahman alias Anik, 19. Police identified him as the alleged “second-in-command” of the Ratan Group.
