624 arrested in one night in Cumilla, what police operation revealed

Police have arrested 624 people in a one-night operation in Cumilla over alleged involvement with juvenile gangs. After a simultaneous cordon-and-search operation at 18 police stations in the district on Wednesday night, police said on Thursday that 451 of the arrested were juveniles handed over to their guardians after signing undertakings. The remaining 173 were sent to court in cases related to drug use, regular cases, mobile courts, activities of banned organisations and arrest warrants.

Discussion about juvenile gang activity in the district began anew after the murder of Ishayat Shahriar, alias Oprotim, the 13-year-old child of a Comilla University teacher. The body of the seventh-grade student was recovered from a jungle beside the university campus on September 19. Police said the involvement of those detained on suspicion in the murder investigation has brought the issue of juvenile delinquency and organised juvenile gangs to the fore.

Local residents said there have been allegations of juveniles becoming involved in various crimes, including mugging and drugs, in Cumilla over the past few years. Several videos of juvenile gangs openly displaying weapons or committing muggings in the name of gangs have also spread on social media.

Against this backdrop, police conducted simultaneous operations at 18 police stations in the district on Wednesday night. Additional Superintendent of Police Lutfor Rahman of Cumilla district police said 624 people were detained for questioning over alleged involvement in juvenile gangs. He said most of the detainees were students. Among them were drug users and accused against whom arrest warrants were pending.

The police official said the purpose of the operation was not to harass anyone. He said alongside sending a strong message to juvenile offenders, legal action will be taken against those accused of involvement in crimes or arrested with drugs. Others have been released into their guardians' custody after signing undertakings.

Lutfor Rahman said the operation was also conducted following complaints that the nuisance of troublemakers increases after evening. Police also said such operations will continue to reduce juvenile crime.

However, during the operation, allegations emerged that 17 juveniles detained at Daudkandi Model Police Station broke down the door of a room and fled. Police said a crowd of ordinary people had gathered at the police station as many were detained at once. They fled amid the commotion. They were later arrested again.

Cumilla's operation has also brought old discussions about juvenile gang activity to the fore. According to law enforcement estimates, 386 juvenile gangs under various names are active in Dhaka and various parts of the country. Allegations of juveniles becoming involved in various crimes, including drugs, clashes, theft and mugging, have also regularly come to the fore over the past few years.

According to sociologists and crime analysts, multiple social factors are behind the rise in juvenile crime. They cite easy availability of drugs, misuse of technology, weakening of social values, family and economic crises, and unrestricted use of social media as among the reasons.

There are also allegations of the role of locally influential people, a politically created "big brother" culture and drug traders behind organised juvenile crime. Experts say arresting or punishing juveniles alone will not fully solve the problem; those who use them for criminal activities also need to be identified and brought under the law.

Cumilla district police said there are plans to continue operations to curb juvenile crime. At the same time, work is underway to prepare lists of organised juvenile criminal gangs in other parts of the country as well.