Chief Whip for eliminating juvenile gangs within three months

Jatiya Sangsad Chief Whip Nurul Islam Moni said on Friday that juvenile gangs will be eliminated from Bangladesh within the next three months.

“Juveniles will be encouraged to abandon criminal activities and be provided with opportunities for education and skills development,” he said.

The chief whip was addressing a shadow parliament session titled “What Needs to Be Done to Prevent Juvenile Gangs”, organised by Debate for Democracy at Bangladesh Film Development Corporation (BFDC).

He said those support juvenile gangs must be identified and brought to justice.

Noting that a criminal cannot have any political identity, he said action will be taken against anyone involved in wrongdoing and criminal activities.

Nurul Islam Moni said he wanted to see young people holding books, not weapons. “They will pursue education, acquire skills and develop expertise in modern technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics,” he added.

Moni said the practice of broadly blaming the government whenever an incident occurs must end. The government must be given an opportunity to do its work, he said, adding that criminals must be brought to justice regardless of their political affiliation or identity.

He said there is a tendency among criminals to change their political identities along with changes in political power.

Those who previously operated juvenile gangs under political patronage may attempt to commit crimes using different political identities in the new circumstances as well, he said. Efforts are underway to identify such individuals, he added.

Chairman of Debate for Democracy Hasan Ahmed Chowdhury Kiran also spoke on the occasion.

Mirpur Cantonment Public School and College emerged victorious in the debating event defeating St Joseph Higher Secondary School.

Trophies, crests and certificates were distributed among the participating teams on the occasion.