Drugs, teenage gangs, TikTok - the new generation is devastated by these three diseases of society. The youth society is on the verge of destruction today due to the horrors of drugs. The government's policy-making circles must take a quick decision in this regard. The concerned organizations and departments must come forward with a coordinated plan. The situation will not improve if the godfathers of teenage gangs cannot be brought under the law. Drugs are the root of all crimes. And the misuse of TikTok and Likes is giving rise to new crimes in society. Appropriate measures must be taken now to solve these three problems. A social movement must be built.
The speakers made these remarks at a roundtable meeting titled 'What to do to prevent the three diseases of society (drugs, teenage gangs and TikTok)' on Saturday. Jugantar organized the meeting. At the meeting held in the newspaper's conference room, the speakers also said that the weakness of investigation has ruined all trials. To solve the problem, they demanded that the law enforcement agencies become more 'smart' and the judicial system be digitalized. They also commented that it is important for parents to be more aware.
The meeting, chaired by Jamuna Group Chairman, former State Minister for Women and Children Affairs and publisher of Jugantor Advocate Salma Islam MP, presented the keynote address by Professor Dr. Arupratan Chowdhury, founding president of the Narcotics and Addiction Prevention Association (MANAS) and advisory member of the National Narcotics Control Board. The discussion was attended by Jugantor Editor and former president of the National Press Club Saiful Alam, VC of the National University Professor Dr. Mashiur Rahman, former chairman of the Department of Criminology of Dhaka University Professor Dr. Zia Rahman, former Additional IGP Mokhlesur Rahman, Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) and Chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Police AKM Hafiz Akhter, Director of the Law and Media Wing of the Elite Force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Commander Khandaker Al Moin, Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua, psychiatrist and associate professor of the National Institute of Mental Health Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed and Ahmed Dipu, Deputy Editor of Jugantor. In addition, Nasima Begum, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, and Ahsanul Jabbar, Director General of the Department of Narcotics Control, spoke online. Ehsanul Haque Babu, Deputy Editor of Jugantor, moderated the roundtable meeting. Jugantor Assistant Editor Dewan Asif Rashid and Special Correspondent, President of Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association, Mizan Malik were present.
At the roundtable, Jamuna Group Chairman Salma Islam MP said, "The youth today are on the verge of destruction due to the horrors of drugs. If one member of the family is addicted to drugs, there is nothing left to say about the happiness and peace of the entire family. Therefore, the state institution, the Narcotics Control Department, can play a big role in the matter of drugs. They are also working. But their work needs to be more visible and effective to the public. The department needs to come forward with a special plan against drugs. Along with this, every family needs to build a strong resistance system against drugs. Parents need to constantly keep an eye on where our children are going, with whom they are hanging out, whether they are sleeping on time at night, with whom they are talking in secret - these are the things that parents need to keep an eye on."
The former state minister also said that during the Corona period, children's routines have already become chaotic. They are spending a lot of time on their mobile phones without sleeping at night. Parents need to monitor this issue. They also need to teach family values. The moral education of the family is the basic education of children. The education that children receive from the family continues throughout their lives.
Salma Islam MP said, "I have been hearing about juvenile gangs for the past few years. Many reports have been published in the media about this and are being published. Several horrific murders have also taken place by juvenile gang members. Several reports have been published over the years about the origins of juvenile gangs. She said, juvenile gang members are getting involved in various misdeeds. They have many 'elder brothers' and godfathers or mafia. This mafia gang must be found. Surely, a lot of information and data about mafias has come into the hands of law enforcement agencies by now. In my opinion, the guardians of the people involved are primarily responsible for their involvement in various misdeeds involving drugs, juvenile gangs and TikTok-likes. The opportunity to get away with committing crimes is making them more reckless. No brother of the godfathers due to whom the new generation is becoming reckless can be spared. Because, when juvenile criminals are caught, those godfathers lobby for their release. Those who lobby for criminals are the big criminals." Therefore, it is important to ensure equal application of the law in all cases. The administration must develop a mindset to work more impartially.
The chairman of Jamuna Group said, TikTok videos have now emerged as a big digital problem in society. Those who use it may present various arguments in favor of it. They defend it. But I will say, everything has two sides, good and bad. For example, we can cut fruits with a sharp knife. It is a good thing. We can also kill people with it. From what I have heard about TikTok so far, there is no chance of anything good happening with it. He said, another deadly addiction is destroying our young children. That is PUBG games. Children have become addicted to these games on mobile phones. Some games, including PUBG, are encouraging children to become rioters. Apart from known friends, many strangers are involved in these games. Therefore, children are getting involved in bad networks without anyone's knowledge. From the roundtable meeting, I demand from the concerned to take measures to stop these games quickly. Not only TikTok videos, but also sites or videos that are causing us more harm than good must be stopped. Our economy has already been damaged in many ways due to the Corona pandemic. Although the income of many has decreased, expenses have increased. People have lost their jobs or are disoriented. In this situation, there can be no compromise with such a poisonous boil in society. Therefore, we have organized such a meeting out of the responsibility of society. Many will organize such meetings in the future as well. But this alone will not solve the problem. The media can point out mistakes. They can arrange information and data and spread it. And it is the responsibility of the government to take action. Everyone should agree on the issues that have emerged from the meeting. If everyone works from their own position, these problems will not exist. And if these problems are removed, there will be no more obstacles before Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to build Bangabandhu's Sonar Bangla.
In the main article, Professor Dr. Arupratan Chowdhury said that the number of drug addicts in the country is currently 20 million, of which 10 million are drug addicts and the remaining 10 million are irregular drug addicts. Therefore, it is not possible to say exactly how many drug addicts there are. However, the dire situation can be easily estimated from the documentary films in various newspapers. 84 percent of drug addicts in the country are men and 16 percent are women. Of these, 80 percent are young, 80 percent are involved in various terrorist activities, 98 percent are smokers, 57 percent are sex offenders and 7 percent are HIV infected. The survey shows that the majority of drug addicts who come for treatment are addicted to Yaba. 80 percent of these Yaba addicts are students. Yaba is such a destructive drug that, although taking it temporarily increases excitement, it causes extreme physical and mental exhaustion and from that falls into extreme depression, anarchy and sadness, as a result, a Yaba user can commit suicide by getting involved in the heinous crimes of society.
In the main article, he further said - 80 percent of all crimes including rape, rape-related murder, and murder are committed by drug addicts. They are involved in these crimes in some way or the other and it has been definitely said that drug addiction is one of the reasons for terrorism, rape, and violence against women. Despite the government's zero tolerance policy, drugs are not being controlled at all. Scientific explanations say that after consuming drugs, many people develop a mentality to commit a certain type of crime. Drugs have a greater impact especially in the case of rape and rape-related murder. Many people take advantage of the environmental situation after consuming drugs to commit rape and rape-related murder. An average of 50 people involved in drugs are arrested in Dhaka every day. Not only in Dhaka, the picture is almost the same across the country. Cases under the drug law are much more than other crimes. On average, about 300 drug cases are filed every day.
He further said that most of the high-profile murders that have taken place in the capital in the last 10-11 years have been committed by juvenile criminals. Members of juvenile gangs, led by godfathers, are involved in major thefts, robberies, extortion, sexual harassment and drug trafficking. A section of juveniles, disguised as members of various parties or affiliated organizations, are spreading their influence throughout the city under the umbrella of their 'influential' older brothers in the area. They are roaming around the area, committing various crimes. There are increasing clashes every day in groups, fights, murders. All these juveniles are taking drugs in groups wherever they go.
Jugantar Editor Saiful Alam said, there are many diseases beyond the ones discussed today - drugs, teenage gangs and TikTok. Society can now be said to be plagued by diseases. Work is also underway to eliminate those diseases. We are trying to correct them. We are trying to move to a new place. But even then, there is no way to deny that these three issues have shaken our families, society and the state to a great extent. That is why Jugantar feels that this issue needs to be discussed more at this time. It is very important to present to the nation the direction on how we can get rid of this issue. Jugantar believes that as a newspaper, it has a social responsibility in addition to collecting, publishing and delivering news to the readers. Because of that belief, we undertake various public service and social awareness discussions and programs. Due to Covid-19, everything has come to a standstill for the past year. We have gathered for today's event even amidst Covid as the three issues that have come to the fore in recent times have shaken society greatly.
The editor of Jugantar said, "Actually, a concerted effort is needed to eliminate these diseases. In order to change society in this place. We often have to be embarrassed about society. Just as a place of new expectations has been created, various problems and crises have also been created. But stopping is not enough. Life does not stop, nor does time. So we have no choice but to move forward. That is why I personally think that in this period of social transition, we need to take much more careful and conscious steps. It is needed from the family, the society, the educational institutions, and the state. If we want to build the country as a human welfare-oriented state in the state that we established through the great liberation war, it is very important for everyone to fulfill their responsibilities from their respective positions."
National Human Rights Commission Chairman Nasima Begum said that families and parents can play the biggest role in overcoming the three diseases of drugs, teenage gangs and TikTok. We need to know where our children go, what they do and what they watch. There is a lack of human values in society now, a lack of family values. Therefore, children need to be given moral education. Children cannot be left alone with mobile phones. The misuse of mobile phones and the internet must be prevented. We need to take decisions about the apps due to which our children are facing destruction. BTRC has a role in this.
