After unrest in Khagrachhari on Friday, clashes between Bengalis and hill people occurred in Rangamati, injuring 55 people and killing a young hill person. During the 11:00 am to 1:00 pm conflicts, homes and businesses were also set on fire and vandalized.
A protest against the murders of three hill people in gunfire and arson attacks on homes and businesses in Khagrachhari was earlier carried out in a procession through the Sadar uapzila of Rangamati district. Stone chips were thrown at the procession, which erupted over a 1.5-kilometer stretch in Bonrupa, Kalindipur, Uttar Kalindipur, and Bojon Soroni, sparking the altercation. After the incidents, at about 1:00 pm, Section 144 was put into effect.
The deceased’s details were not accessible. The Rangamati Sadar Hospital housed the body.
56 injured persons had been brought to the hospital since 11:30 am, according to hospital resident physician Showkat Akbar, and one of them, who was between the ages of 25 and 30, had been declared dead. He might have perished from a strike to his head.
Nineteen injured were treated at the Rangamati Sadar Hospital, and three were transported to Chattogram for more advanced care. First assistance was administered, and the injured that remained were freed. Physicians reported that these individuals had stone injuries and cut marks on their bodies.
Around 10:00 am, the protest procession was led by many thousand hill students and individuals, starting from the Rangamati stadium. Some of the procession’s participants threw stone chips into the Bonrupa region, which heightened tension and resulted in fights between Bengalis and hill people.
The procession was then led by hill people in front of the deputy commissioner’s office, when stone chips were exchanged by both sides. The procession was thwarted at one point, and the hill people fled to nearby locations.
In the Bonrupa and Kalindipur areas, between thirty and forty homes and commercial buildings—including the regional council office—were also set on fire and vandalized. At least thirty cars, including the motorcycle of Prothom Alo’s Rangamati correspondent Sadhan Bikash Chakma, were set on fire. Other vehicles that were vandalized included buses, motorcycles, and autorickshaws powered by compressed natural gas.
Following the incident, at about 1:00 pm, Deputy Commissioner Md. Mosarrof Hossain Khan enforced section 144 in the Rangamati municipality. Patrol was reinforced by the army and police. To stop more attacks, the hill people region was guarded by locals.
One person was murdered in the altercation, and other cars and stores were set on fire, according to Mohammad Sha Imran, the additional superintendent of police for Rangamati, who spoke with Prothom Alo. After section 144 was enforced, everything were getting back to normal. Even with the army, police, and Border Guard Bangladesh patrolling the areas, there are still some locations where there is fear.
Thursday night, there was an overnight shooting incident in the Sadar district of Khagrachhari, which was related to fighting between Bengalis and hill people in the area’s Dighinala upazila. Everywhere in the district, especially Sadar, there is tension.
Three persons have been confirmed dead as a result of the afternoon fighting and the midnight gunfire. At least fifteen individuals have been hurt in the interim. Rubel Chakma, 30, Junan Chakma, 20, and Dhananjay Chakma, 50, are the deceased individuals.
According to reports, the altercation commenced on Wednesday when a 30-year-old man called Muhammad Mamun was assaulted on suspicion of stealing a motorbike. On Wednesday, Mamun, a resident of Khagrachhari Sadar Upazila, passed away while receiving medical attention.
Bengalis staged a protest march in Dighinala on Thursday afternoon in response to the tragedy. At that time, the hill people were said to have blocked the march. That’s when there was a clash.
The hill people formerly fled towards isolated hill regions, leaving their homes behind, after their shops and homes were set on fire.
