New Age | UN-led investigation, fair trial demanded in murders and arson attack

Family members of the victims and those affected by the recent sectarian violence in Khagrachari and Rangamati called for a United Nations-supervised investigation into the incident.

They also demanded a fair trial in the killings of four members of ethnic minorities and arson attacks by Bengalis in two districts of the Chittagong Hill Tracts and ensured exemplary punishment for those involved.

They made the demands at a press conference at the National Press Club on Sunday.

Khukumoni Chakma, a survivor and witness to the violence in Rangamati, said in a written statement that the hill dwellers witnessed back-to-back sectarian attacks on September 19 and 20 in which four people were killed and over a hundred injured.

“Two of the seriously injured are currently being treated in Chattogram. “At least 105 shops were damaged in Dighinala and at least 100 shops in Rangamati,” she said.

The attackers also destroyed and looted the Maitri Bihar Buddhist religious institution, she said, adding that authorities imposed Section 144 only after the violence was over.

“Despite the government’s formation of a seven-member inquiry committee on September 26, none of the attackers involved in the killings and looting have been arrested so far. “Fear and panic still prevail among ethnic communities in three hill districts – Rangamati, Khagrachari and Bandarban,” said she.

The mothers of Junan Chakma and Rubel Tripura, who were allegedly shot dead by security forces in Swanirbhar area of ​​Khagrachari on September 19, demanded a thorough investigation into the murders of their children and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Junan’s mother, Rupsa Chakma, wiped away tears and said, “I used to respect the Bangladesh army men, but I no longer have any respect for them when they killed our sons.”

She claimed that members of the army not only shot her son but also continued to brutally beat Junan with the weapon.

She shared, “I am still afraid.” After losing Junan, I am afraid to send my younger son to school or elsewhere. I spend my days fearing when, what would happen, whether the army settlers would attack again.’

Binok Chakma, son of Dhana Ranjan Chakma, who was killed in Dighinala on September 19, said his father went to Larma Square to help people whose shops were set on fire.

“At that time, the soldiers grabbed my father, beat him with the butt of a rifle, cut off his limbs and brutally killed him,” he claimed.

The army had failed to treat people regardless of their religion and ethnicity, he said.

They called for adequate compensation for the families of the victims, the injured and the owners of the affected homes and businesses, as well as immediate and proper treatment for the injured.

Their demands also included the dismissal of military and civilian officials involved in sectarian violence during the Sheikh Hasina regime and their prosecution under military and civilian law, as well as taking political initiatives to restore peace and stability in the CHT as well as the withdrawal of military rule and settlers from the CHT.

On September 19, Bengalis took out a procession in the district town of Khagrachari to protest against the killing of Mohammad Mamun, which led to attacks by Bengalis on ethnic minority homes and shops in Dighinala.

However, Mamun’s wife filed a case at the Khagrachari police station against three Bengalis – an activist of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and two leaders of the Awami League.

The violence spread from Khagrachari to Rangamati the next day on September 20, killing another ethnic youth, Anik Kumar Chakma.

At least four cases – two murder cases in Khagrachari and one murder case and another vandalism-related case in Rangamati – have been lodged at local police stations over the sectarian violence.