16 members of two teen gangs held in Dhaka

The Rapid Action Battalion claimed to have detained 16 members of "teen gangs" from different parts of Hazaribagh and Darus Salam areas of the capital on Sunday.

All the detainees are members of two local gangs -- Don Sagar Group and Munna Group, said Lt Col Khandaker Saiful Alam, commanding officer of Rab-2, at a press briefing at its headquarters in Basila yesterday.

Among them, 15 are aged between 13 and 20 while one is 32.

"They have long been involved in many criminal activities including robbery, mugging, drug abuse, harassing women and extortion," he said.

These teen gangs often engage in clashes, creating panic in the areas, he added. 

Rab recovered various sharp weapons including 11 knives and a machete from them.

In the last one month, Rab-2 conducted drives in various parts of the capital and detained 62 members of 11 teen gangs, the Rab official informed.

Meanwhile in another drive on Sunday, Rab-2 detained six youths from the city's Lalmatia area while they were peddling and consuming cannabis in front of a private university campus.

Separate cases will be filed in these connections, the Rab official said.