A total of 182 people were detained during a crackdown on alleged juvenile gangs in Lakshmipur, police said.
With the latest arrests, the number of detainees in the two-day operation in the district has risen to 448.
The latest drive was conducted from 6pm to 11pm on Tuesday in areas under Sadar, Chandraganj, Raipur, Ramganj, Ramgati and Kamalnagar police stations. The five-hour operation was carried out jointly by district police, the Detective Branch (DB).
Police said all those detained were aged between 14 and 18. The operation targeted locations where complaints had been raised about juvenile gang activity and youth involvement in criminal acts.
Authorities are currently verifying the detainees’ alleged involvement in criminal activities and said legal action will be taken where necessary.
During the operation, 64 people were detained in Lakshmipur Sadar Police Station, 21 in Chandraganj, 20 in Raipur, 24 in Ramganj, 13 in Ramgati, 17 in Kamalnagar, while 23 others were detained in separate raids conducted by the DB.
Police said locals have long complained about the activities of teen gangs in different parts of the district. Allegations include harassment of students near educational institutions, clashes among teenagers and involvement in various criminal activities. Based on these complaints, operations have been launched in all police stations.
On the first day of the crackdown, police detained 266 people. Following verification, 215 of them were released, while the remaining 51 were shown arrested in various cases and sent to jail through court orders.
Lakshmipur Sadar Police Station Officer-in-charge Wahid Parvez and Raipur Police Station Officer-in-charge Md Nizam Uddin Bhuiyan said the anti-gang drives were being conducted regularly to prevent teenagers from becoming involved in criminal activities.
They said the district police would continue such operations to curb juvenile crime and that legal action would be taken after verifying information related to those detained.
