A month-long, intensive crackdown by law enforcement agencies against juvenile gangs across Cumilla has significantly restored public safety, transforming once-volatile nocturnal hotspots into peaceful public spaces. The concerted drive, launched in late September following a gruesome murder that shocked the nation, has dismantled several notorious youth syndicates, drastically curbing public drug consumption, motorcycle racing with modified silencers, and late-night gathering hazards that long plagued residents.
A nocturnal field inspection conducted on Tuesday (Oct 29) between 11:00 PM and 2:30 AM revealed a striking transformation across Cumilla city. Areas such as the Town Hall ground in the Kandirpar neighbourhood and the Central Eidgah ground near the Circuit House intersection—once notorious for late-night adolescent crowds, illicit drug dens, and the pungent smell of cannabis—now exhibit an unusual serenity. Similar improvements were observed near the Cumilla Railway Station and surrounding thoroughfares, where the menacing presence of youth gangs racing motorcycles with removed silencers has plummeted.
The sweeping anti-gang operations commenced on the night of September 23, immediately following widespread public outrage triggered by a special media report on juvenile delinquency. The police initiative was catalyzed by the tragic killing of schoolboy Ishayat Shahriyar Oprotim, son of Cumilla University Bangla Department Associate Professor Nahida Begum. Oprotim went missing after leaving his home on September 18, and his bloodstained body was subsequently recovered by police on September 19 from a forest in the Lalmai Hills under Sadar Dakshin Upazila. Police investigations and subsequent arrests of four individuals linked the crime directly to juvenile gang networks.
Over the course of the month-long campaign concluding Thursday, police detained 3,412 individuals across all 18 police stations in the district. Authorities released 2,386 youths into the custody of their parents after obtaining formal written bonds, while legal proceedings were initiated against the remaining 1,026 suspects. The high-profile arrests included several prominent gang leaders, notably Imran Hossain, alias Ratan, the chief of the infamous local syndicate known as the R Squad or Ratan Group. Consecutive night-time spot checks conducted on September 26, October 12, October 15, and October 20 corroborated the steady decline in illicit activities across the city.
pullers, and small business owners have expressed profound relief over the crackdown. Mosharraf Hossain, a battery-run autorickshaw driver in the Chawkbazar area who has navigated Cumilla's streets at night for 15 years, noted that he no longer fears entering dark alleys where he was previously targeted and robbed by delinquents. Ershad Mia, a tea vendor operating at the Town Hall ground for over two decades, echoed similar sentiments, stating that while nocturnal sales have dipped, the absence of aggressive crowds and cannabis smoke has made working at night vastly safer and more reassuring.
Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md. Anisuzzaman emphasized that juvenile gangs were heavily implicated in a surge of muggings, robberies, and other violent crimes across the district, as determined by the analysis of various case dossiers. Asserting a zero-tolerance policy, Superintendent Anisuzzaman stated that operations will remain a permanent fixture of daily policing to safeguard public security. Meanwhile, civil society leaders, including Professor Nikhil Chandra Ray, president of the Conscious Citizens Committee (Sanak) in Cumilla, lauded the police intervention while cautioning that long-term sustainability hinges on maintaining relentless law enforcement vigilance and bringing the powerful patrons and godfathers behind these juvenile rings to justice.
