22 teens force way out of Cumilla police station holding room

Twenty-two teenagers forced their way out of a room at Daudkandi Model Police Station in Cumilla on Wednesday night after several detainees broke chairs, tables and the door. 

Some later chanted "Bhua Bhua" outside the station.

Police had detained the 22 along with six others earlier in the day during a drive against teen gangs.

Officer-in-Charge of Daudkandi Model Police Station Mohammad Sajedul Islam went to the scene and tried to calm the crowd using a microphone.

"We detained 28 people on suspicion as they were roaming around unnecessarily. Their relatives came together, causing some crowding," the OC said.

"Twenty-two of them were released into the custody of their guardians around 10:30pm. The remaining six are being screened," he added.

A video showing the teenagers and their guardians creating a commotion in front of the police station has gone viral online.

The guardians alleged that most of the detained teenagers had no previous criminal records.

Relatives and locals began gathering outside the police station from the afternoon to protest the detentions, with tensions escalating at one point.

Witnesses said several detained teenagers broke chairs, tables and the door of the room where they were being held before coming out. Some later gathered in front of the station and chanted "Bhua Bhua".

Members involved in the drive said all those detained were members of teen gangs and had therefore been taken to the police station.

Meanwhile, Cumilla District Police said in a Facebook post that 624 people had been detained in simultaneous drives against teen gangs across areas under all 18 police stations in the district.

According to the post, police had recently found teenagers becoming involved in various criminal activities, negatively affecting society.

Following instructions from Cumilla Superintendent of Police Md Anisuzzaman, drives were conducted in different parts of Cumilla city and elsewhere in the district, particularly in areas where groups of youths were reportedly causing disturbances.

Senior district police officials directly took part in the drives, it said.

Police are checking whether those detained had previous involvement in criminal activities and will take legal action where necessary, according to the post.

The district police said such drives would continue to prevent teen gang members from becoming involved in criminal activities.

TBS tried to contact SP Md Anisuzzaman for comment, but he could not be reached.