Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today (March 19, 2023) asked law enforcement agencies to take action against cybercrime and the trend of teen gangs. “We’ll have to monitor cybercrimes and take action accordingly. RAB and intelligence agencies will have to play a decisive role in this regard,” she said. The prime minister was speaking at the 19th founding anniversary of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) at the force’s headquarters in Dhaka’s Kurmitola. Saying that her government developed the country as “Digital Bangladesh”, the PM said cybercrimes have increased as the scope of digitization expanded. Also Read: PM meets UK’s cross-party delegation, discusses Rohingya Sheikh Hasina said the aim of Digital Bangladesh is to ensure the wellbeing of the people, not to cause distress. She said there are some anti-state forces. They see “nothing, no matter how much advancement Bangladesh achieves.” There is another section of people who “defame Bangladesh to foreigners and secure financial or other benefits through this,” the PM said. Talking about the US sanction imposed on RAB officials, the premier asked RAB personnel not to be upset at what others said about them but rather move ahead resolutely. “This is our country that was freed through the sacrifice of blood… We know who does what and we’ll assess accordingly. We have to work with confidence,” she said. Read More: Man killed in RAB gunfire for 'protesting neighbour's arrest,' family says “We will have to identify those who carry out propaganda and defame Bangladesh. We will have to find out why they are doing it and their purpose,” she added. The PM said Bangladeshis can judge who has done good or bad. “If anyone commits an offense, we must speak about it. Don’t be upset at what some people are saying. You will have to move ahead with a sense of self-esteem and confidence,” she said. About the rising trend of teen gangs, Sheikh Hasina said parents, teachers and public representatives alongside law enforcers must take responsibility to put an end to the culture of teen gangs. “The teen gangs must be stopped,” she said. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan and RAB Director General Additional IGP M Khurshid Hossain also spoke at the programme. Read More: 8 arrested while trying to rob a RAB vehicle in Narayanganj: RAB

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested 20 members of a “teen gang” along with sharp weapons from different areas of Dhaka on Monday. Tipped off, a team of RAB-2 conducted drives in the capital’s Mohammadpur, Adabar, Hazaribagh, Bosila and Kawran Bazar areas on Monday night and arrested them along with sharp weapons, said Senior ASP Md Fazlul Haque, senior assistant director (Media) of RAB-2. Read: Anti-Terrorism Unit arrests convicted ‘Hizb ut-Tahrir activist’ in Dhaka After primary interrogation, RAB came to know that they were involved in criminal activities including selling drugs, mugging, extortion and stealing. The process is underway to take legal action against them, said the RAB official.

Members of Rapid Action Battalions (Rab) have detained six members of a teen gang named ‘Ratan Group’ over the killing of a teenage boy in Cumilla city. A team of Rab-11 detained the teenage boys after conducting drives at Debidwar and Sadar upazilas on Saturday night, said Md Sakib Hossain, commander of Crime Prevention Company-2 of the battalion, at a press briefing on Sunday. Read:Govt to lower age bracket for children to punish teen gangs The detainees were handed over to Kotwali Model police station, the officer added. On Friday afternoon, Ratan Group members hacked Shahadat Hossain, a member of  teen gang ‘Eagle Group’, indiscriminately in front of Our Lady of Fatima Girls High School in Cumilla city following previous dispute, leaving him seriously injured. Later, he was rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead on arrival. Police arrested 12 more people in connection with the killing.

Members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) have arrested five members of a teen gang from Lalkhan Bazar area in Chattogram city. The arrestees are Md Arif alias Lokman, 27, Md Hridoy, 20, Md Shukur, 21, Md Arif, 19, and Md Mir Hossain, 19, of Chattogram city. According to a media release of Rab headquarters, a team of Rab-7 arrested the five conducting a drive in Lalkhan Bazar area on Saturday noon after receiving a complaint  over assaulting a construction worker for extortion by them. Read:Teen gangs to be reined in: Rab DG Later, Rab seized cash Tk 44,500 and a sharp weapon from their possession. During interrogation, the arrestees confessed that they are active members of a teen gang and have been involved in extortion in different areas of Chittagong city for a long time. The arrestees were handed over to Khulshi police station to take further legal action, said the release.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members arrested four members of a teen gang named ‘Gazi Group’ along with sharp weapons in the city’s Mohammadpur area on Saturday. The arrestees were identified as Md Rubel,18, Md Shakil Khan,19, Md Nayeem,20, and Md Khairul Islam,20, said a press release of Rab-2. Tipped off, a team of Rab-2 conducted a drive at Basila Tin Rastar More area around 1:15 pm and arrested the four members of the gang along with four knives and a mobile phone set. Also read: 7 ‘teen gang members’ held in city According to the investigation of Rab, the group members were  involved in mugging, extortion and many crimes in the area. Rab sources said  the arrestees have many injury marks on their bodies which they sustained during clashes with other teen gangs in different times. Process is underway to take legal action against them, said the release. Also read: Man killed in attack by ‘teen gang members’ in Chattogram

A young man was killed and four others injured in an attack reportedly by members of a teen gang in the city’s Agrabad area on Wednesday.