Rab detains 14 youths from Uttara

Rapid Action Battalion has detained 14 youths from Uttara, claiming that they are members of a “teen gang”.

The elite force also claimed to have recovered a SBBL gun and two knives from their possessions.

“All the detainees belong to a group named ‘First Hitter Boss’, also known to locals as ‘Tufan Group’,” Rab-1 Commanding Officer Lt Col Sarwar Bin Kashem said in a press statement yesterday.

A Rab-1 team raided Uttara on Saturday night and detained the 14 near Uttara Rajuk office, according to the press statement.

The Rab official said members of the group are engaged in various crimes like bullying, ragging, teasing, snatching and taking drugs around schools and colleges in the area.

They run a dance club to lure teenagers to their gang. The “dance master” of the group has no training in dance, Sarwar added.

The detainees -- aged between 18 and 21 -- include students, day labourers, bus drivers and auto-rickshaw helpers. Most of them are residents of Dakkhin Khan, says the press release.

Noticing “anti-social activities” of teenagers in Uttara, Abdullahpur, Tongi, Uttar Khan, Dakhhin Khan and adjoining areas, members of the Rab-1 have strengthened their vigilance on them, according to Rab.

Contacted, Rab-1 Company Commander Md Salauddin last night said the detainees were handed over to Uttara East Police Station, and filing of a case was underway.

Last week, Rab arrested 11 members of what it said was another alleged teen gang “New Nine Star” group -- including nine underage boys -- from Turag area on the outskirts of the capital.

Dhaka’s teen gang culture first hit headlines after Adnan Kabir, 14, was beaten to death in Uttara on January 6, 2017.