Juvenile crimes on the rise
Shoumen Biswas Anik
The increase in the incidence of juvenile delinquency in the port city of Chittagong has made the parents, guardians and conscious people wary of getting their teenage children involved in crimes. The trifling matters like incidents of taking possession of cellphone set or winning heart of girlfriends are driving a section of school students mad to hesitate a little even to kill classmates when some of them are also seen indulging in eve teasing. The brutal killing of Shoumen Biswas Anik, 14, a student of class IX of the country's renowned Chittagong Collegiate School, by a group of students of another school of the same age on March 22 revealed the extent of such crimes and moral degradation of teenagers. Students, mostly those studying at coaching centres, are seen roaming and gossiping in groups on the street corners and teasing at the female classmates before going to the classes and engaging in disputes with their classmates. Teachers, guardians and conscious people held aggression of alien culture, lack of proper guidance and teaching on ethics and morality in the schools responsible for such moral degradation of the school students. Shoumen was stabbed in the Rahmatganj area on March 22 afternoon when he along with some of his friends was going to a coaching centre there. He succumbed to his injuries in the early hours of Tuesday. Victim's friends alleged that Shoumen and some other students of his school were mercilessly beaten and stabbed by some students of Chittagong Govt High School studying at the same coaching centre -- The Guide -- at Rahmatganj. Shoumen' mother Chaya Biswas filed a murder case with Kotwali Police Station on March 23 night accusing some unidentified persons. Investigation officer (IO) of the case Sub-Inspector (SI) Shafayet Hossain Chowdhury told The Daily Star that they could know that the murder have taken place centring a romantic relationship. A Collegiate School student had an affair with a student of class-IX of Dr Khastagir Government Girls High School. And another student of the Chittagong Government High School also fell in love with the same girl, also a student of the coaching centre, SI Shafayet said. Nandan Barua, a teacher of The Guide Coaching Centre, said affairs between a boy and a girl are common. Binod Bihari Chowdhury, an anti-British movement veteran, said, “In our age quarrel among students was confined to scuffle or to hand to hand fight that is natural at that age. But bloody violence is really unfortunate.” He attributed the incidents to the lack of proper guidance, absence of moral teaching at the family level and schools. Headmaster of Chittagong Collegiate School Md Aziz Uddin said “Killing of a schoolboy by a group of students of another school is really unfortunate as all of them are still children.” He attributed it to the lack of teaching on ethics and respect to others at schools that led to demoralise the teenage students and forced them to commit such an inhuman act. Aziz said they have started teaching on ethics and manner before starting the academic activities after the murder of Shoumen. Anup Mutsuddi, father of a student of class IX of Chittagong Collegiate School, blamed lack of co-education at the reputed schools for such an incident. “Students studying at the reputed government boys and girls schools get the scope of co-education at the coaching centres all on a sudden. And they feel something different and start behaving unusual in the tender age”, he said. He emphasised introduction of co-education at primary level at every school. Deputy Commissioner (DC) (North) Banaj Kumar Mazumder emphasised social awareness campaign side by side with measures taken by police to reduce the problem.
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