Crime series influencing teen gangs to commit murders

Syed Shemul Parvez :
People specially youths are becoming delinquent watching the crime series, and it has become matter of serious concern for many in Bangladesh. Young people are committing heinous crimes like murder and learning techniques to destroy the evidence from watching crime shows.  
Even law enforcement agencies and experts have been getting increasingly worried about the matter as they observe a few recent incidents where teen gangs were involved.
Nirab Mondal, a class seven student of Khulna, was murdered on February 2 for a ransom of Tk 30 lakh. The police investigation shows that the murderer is five of his classmates. They planned the kidnapping and murder after watching the Indian serial Crime Patrol on their Smartphone. They also learned the technique of killing his friend by twisting a rope around his neck watching that serial.
The future of those five school students involved in the crime is now uncertain. And Nirab’s mother has become mad after losing her beloved child. Lamenting over the loss of her child, she said, “I want severe punishment for them. I want them hanged.”
Earlier on November 26, flower trader Abu Taiyab was killed in Mirpur, Kushtia. Investigation shows that his assistant teenager Jalamin is the killer. He planned the murder after watching the Indian serial CID.
All age groups have an interest in crime series. All the details from the strategy of the crime to the identification of the accused are highlighted in these programmes.
A parent said the programmes on crime are happening daily and having a bad effect on children. So we should be aware while watching these shows. Due to the popularity of the audience, the makers are also inclined to make more crime series.
Crime based stories are presented so beautifully. Consequently, these programmes
have become a source of entertainment for people. People don’t want to understand the negative effects of it. It would be better if the producers of the programme play a cautious role in this regard.
However, the law enforcing agencies say that the negative side of these contents is more than the positive side. Children are the most affected.
Crime experts say that instead of creating events for cheap popularity, one should think about its negative effects. They advise parents to pay more attention to the impact of crime series on the child’s psyche.
In this regard, Society and Crime Expert Dr. Tawohidul Islam, Assistant Professor of Institute of Social Welfare and Research, University of Dhaka, told the New Nation that to control such teen crimes, the government has to introduce a new jail system for the adolescent or juvenile offenders.
He also said that those offenders who are under 18, they generally don’t face the trial or punishment due to the country’s adolescent law. But the rate of teen crime is increasing rapidly across the country. So in this situation, the correction centers are not enough to control such crimes in our society, he added.
Professor of the Department of Criminology of Dhaka University Dr. Ziaur Rahman said, those who are creating crime series should be warned by the administration about the consequences of their shows.
Dr. Hafiz Uddin Buiyan, a professor of Dhaka University, told the New Nation that actually the members of the teen gangs group are rogue and very reckless. They don’t obey their elders in families. They generally take the shelter of dirty politics. Influential people use the gangs for their own interests, Dr. Hafiz said.
Reduction or control of teen gangs totally depends on the government good will. If transparency and discipline return to the politics, this kind of crime will be reduced, Dr Hafiz added.
Faroq Hossain, Deputy Commissioner of DMP’s media and public relations department, said that they are influence by what young people see various content broadcasted on TV, especially any programme related to violence. They imitate those. So while creating any content we have to keep in mind whether children and teenagers can be negatively influenced by it or not.
It is mentionable that following the rise in juvenile crimes and teen gangs, the Cabinet Committee on Law and Order has been considering reducing the age limit of children/minors from 18.