Police say the Bengali settlers cooked up a story that one of them had been abducted to unleash a string of violence on several villages at Taindang in Khagrhachharhi’s Matiranga Upazila.
Following primary investigation, Khagrhachharhi district Superintendant of Police (SP) Sheikh Mizanur Rahman on Tuesday said, “A group cooked up the abduction drama of motorcyclist Mohammad Kamal Uddin, a Bengali settler in the locality. Those responsible for this have been identified.”
The victims who survived and witnessed the attacks of the Bengali settlers there, however, are not ready to accept the incident as ‘just an abduction’.
Police said they were investigating the matter. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) thinks police have also unearthed important information and evidence related to the matter.
Tension among the local Bengali settlers in Taindang’s Bandarsingh area ignited after the rumours of Kamal being abducted spread around 12pm on Saturday.
Most of the locals, nearly 80 percent, are Bengali at Taindang.
Nearly 50 houses were attacked, vandalised, looted and set on fire at six Chakma and Tripura villages of Bandarsing Parha, Baga Parha, Manudas Parha, Sarbaswa Parha and Laku Headman Parha at one point.
Later, police found Kamal from Noaparha with injuries.
Meanwhile, hundreds of the indigenous community crossed the Feni River and took refuge in the no man’s land along Bangladesh-India border.
They, however, returned to their villages on Sunday after reassurances from State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Dipankar Talukdar and senior officials of the district administration.
Matiranga Police Station OC Main Uddin said one Anil Chakma, a victim of the attack, filed a case against almost 175 people, naming 30 of them, on Monday.
The prime accused, Kamal, was arrested on Monday night from Matiranga Upazila Health Complex. Monir Hossain, Amir Hossain and Jahangir Alam too were arrested on the same night.
Suspects Abed Ali, Abu Hanif and Kamruzzaman were arrested earlier on Sunday afternoon. The seven arrestees were taken to the office of Khagrhachharhi district Superintendent of Police for interrogation.
However, Kamal claimed himself to be ‘really tired and sick’ and spoke in a low voice when approached for his side of the story during a visit to Matiranga Upazila Health Complex on Monday.
He told bdnews24.com he was returning with three passengers on his motorcycle from Bhagaban Tila at around 11am on Saturday. At least 15 indigenous youths stopped his motorcycle after a while at Bandarsingh.
He further claimed that the youths caught and took him blindfolded into the jungle. But he was not tortured or no ransom demands were made, which happened in several earlier cases of abduction in the hill tracts.
“The abductors released me after the villages of hills people were attacked and set on fire. They demanded over phone that the attacks on the houses of their people be stopped as I was being released.”
President of Matiranga Upazila BNP unit Tazul Islam on Saturday told reporters that ‘Kamal’, the Joint Secretary of Juba Dal Battoli ward number 4, was abducted by ‘indigenous terrorists’.
But SP Sheikh Mizanur Rahman said the miscreants were trying to carry out violence similar to Ramu. But they ‘would not let that happen’.
Matiranga Police Station OC Main Uddin said the chief architect and those who were directly involved in the event were being identified from the call list on Kamal’s mobile phone.
BGB Jaminiparha Zone Commander Lieutenant Colonel Mohammad Shihab Uddin Shoeb told bdnews24.com: “Police are investigating the matter. They collected some information and unearthed the truth.”
Stating that the BGB personnel were only engaged in maintaining law and order in the area, he said the situation was ‘under control’.
Several locals said the attacks on the villages started right after Saturday noon and continued until 5pm. There were no people in the villages at the time as the villagers managed to flee.
Villagers return, not enough relief
Taindang Union Parishad Member Fani Bhushan Chakma said all the 587 families who had fled and taken refuge in the border and jungle have returned home, but their problems were far from over.
Many have lost their houses to the arson attacks and are currently roughing it out in the open. Many cannot cook food for the family due to lack of kitchenware, said Gopal Chakma, who owns a store at Boga Parha.
A grief-stricken Asha Rani Chakma, who lives in Sarbaswa Parha, said, “I have lost everything. Those attackers did not leave anything for us.”
All the victims alleged lack of relief assistance from the administration at the time.
Deputy Commissioner of the district Masud Karim said the administration ‘will do everything in its powers’ to compensate the losses of the victims. Initially, three tonnes of grains, Tk 250,000 and dry foods have been allotted for them, he said.
The district administration will take steps for more relief and rehabilitation after getting a final list of the victims, Karim added.
Source: Bd news24