Abstract
This paper presents a study of mafia groups in Bangladesh. Drawing on the views and experiences of 22 street children, 80 interviews with criminal justice practitioners, NGO workers and community members and over 3 years of participant observation of the criminal justice system, the paper considers the ‘mastaans’: Bangladeshi mafia groups. The article draws on both theories of protection and behaviour to develop a social protection theory of the mafia. The article considers the social networks of mastaan groups, their prevalence, where they operate, divisions of labour, the crimes that they commit and the associations that they have with politicians and the police. The paper demonstrates that mastaans work in alliance with corrupt members of the state and they provide access to services, resolve disputes, commit extortion and carry out a wide array of criminal activity, much of which relies on their monopolisation of violence to protect their illegal industries. The paper demonstrates—for the first time—that mafias operate in Bangladesh and draws on data gathered from both adults and children, the implications of which are discussed.
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Notes
The term mastaan is often spelt differently in India.
Daily Star. Bangladesh ‘Crime gangs grip city’. 31 March 2010. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=132303
The Bangladesh Police Force publishes a list of 20 ‘top terrorists’ akin to a list of most-wanted criminals.
Daily Star. Bangladesh ‘Crime gangs grip city’. 31 March 2010. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=132303
Group interview (number 5) with the children
Daily Star, Bangladesh. ‘Fresh DNP drive as Top Terror slips out’. 14 February 2009. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=75790
Daily Star, Bangladesh ‘Crime gangs grip city’. 31 March 2010. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=132303
Daily Star, Bangladesh. ‘The Rise of a Dreaded Criminal’. 5 July 2012. Available online at: http://archive.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=240981
Bhaumik, S. ‘Wanted Bangladeshi held in India’. BBC News, 13 October 2008. Available online at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7667083.stm
Daily Star. Bangladesh ‘Crime gangs grip city. 31 March 2010. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=132303
Daily Star. Bangladesh ‘Crime gangs grip city. 31 March 2010. Available online at: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=132303
Semi-structured interview 3
For more details, see the case study of Mirpur discussed at a later stage within this chapter.
Semi-structured interview 1
Semi-structured interview 10
Semi-structured interview 19
Semi-structured interview 20
Awami League
Bangladesh National Party
Group interview (number 5) with the children
Semi-structured interview 3
Semi-structured interview 11
Semi-structured interview 28
Semi-structured interview 28
The youth section of the Awami League (current government)
Semi-structured interview 21
Semi-structured interview 5
Semi-structured interview 18
Unstructured interview 76
Unstructured interview 76
Semi-structured interview 34
Semi-structured interview 34
Semi-structured interview 29
For a more in-depth discussion of this issue, please see Atkinson-Sheppard (2015).
Semi-structured interview 4
Group interview (number 3) with the children
Semi-structured interview 13
For a more detailed discussed of ‘illicit child labour’, please see Atkinson-Sheppard (2015).
Semi-structured interview 9
Please see Atkinson-Sheppard (forthcoming), Street children and Dhaka’s Gangs: Using a Case Study to Explore Bangladeshi Organised Crime. SAGE Research Methods Cases. xx-xx.
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Atkinson-Sheppard, S. ‘Mastaans’ and the Market for Social Protection Exploring Mafia Groups in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Asian Criminology 12, 235–253 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-017-9246-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-017-9246-9