At least 30 houses and business establishments belonging to indigenous communities came under arson attack in Khagrachhari's Dighinala upazila today.
The incident took place around 5:00pm in the Larma Square area of the Dighinala upazila headquarters.
Witnesses say the attacks follow the death of a Bangali man, Md Mamun, who was killed in a mob beating on charges of stealing a motorbike in the district town on Wednesday morning.
Protesting the killing, a group of Bangali settlers brought out a procession in Dighinala upazila headquarters this afternoon.
Avenue Sangma, who owns a shop at Larma Square in Dighinala upazila town, said, "My shop was vandalised and later torched at around 5:30pm. As far as I saw, some 30 to 40 shops were torched in this area."
"We could barely save our lives by fleeing to the forest areas."
When contacted, former Dighinala upazila parishad chairman Dharma Joyti Chakma confirmed the arson attacks but could not specify how many houses and establishments were targeted.
He said the incident escalated when the protesting settlers beat up a local coconut hawker from an indigenous community.
"A similar incident almost took place yesterday [Wednesday], when a group of settlers gathered at Khagrachhari town and were shouting provocative slogans against indigenous people."
Md Arefin Jewel, superintendent of police (SP) of the Khagrachhari district, told The Daily Star, "Tension is high in Dighinala centring the death of a man named Mamun, who was killed by a mob a day ago.
Citing the police database, he said Mamun was wanted in 17 cases, including 14 on theft charges.
Mamun was beaten by locals on suspicion of possible theft on Wednesday.
"As the man was a Bangali... a group of people trying to incite violence over the incident started demonstrating and torched shops in Boalkhali Natun Bazar [adjacent to Larma Square]," SP Jewel told this newspaper around 7:30pm,
Asked if fires were doused yet, he said, "It is a remote place, and the fire service also needs an escort to reach the spot."
"Army is already on duty in Dighinala. We're trying to bring the situation under control along with the army and BGB members," added Jewel.
Till the filing of this report at 8:00pm, there was tension between hill dwellers and Bengali settlers in different areas of Khagrachhari, said locals.
Contacted, Ahsan Habib Palash, range DIG of Police in Chattogram, said the law enforcement agencies were trying to bring the situation under control, adding, "A joint patrolling is going on by the law enforcement agencies comprising army, police and BGB."
"This night [Thursday] is very important," he said, adding, "We are trying to bring peace in the district."
[Our Rangamati and Chattogram staff correspondents contributed to the report]
Source- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/b...a3uoxeVS6A3qF0qDgM_aem_C3W9gn3au9hjEJ7U4zCU8w
The incident took place around 5:00pm in the Larma Square area of the Dighinala upazila headquarters.
Witnesses say the attacks follow the death of a Bangali man, Md Mamun, who was killed in a mob beating on charges of stealing a motorbike in the district town on Wednesday morning.
Protesting the killing, a group of Bangali settlers brought out a procession in Dighinala upazila headquarters this afternoon.
Avenue Sangma, who owns a shop at Larma Square in Dighinala upazila town, said, "My shop was vandalised and later torched at around 5:30pm. As far as I saw, some 30 to 40 shops were torched in this area."
"We could barely save our lives by fleeing to the forest areas."
When contacted, former Dighinala upazila parishad chairman Dharma Joyti Chakma confirmed the arson attacks but could not specify how many houses and establishments were targeted.
He said the incident escalated when the protesting settlers beat up a local coconut hawker from an indigenous community.
"A similar incident almost took place yesterday [Wednesday], when a group of settlers gathered at Khagrachhari town and were shouting provocative slogans against indigenous people."
Md Arefin Jewel, superintendent of police (SP) of the Khagrachhari district, told The Daily Star, "Tension is high in Dighinala centring the death of a man named Mamun, who was killed by a mob a day ago.
Citing the police database, he said Mamun was wanted in 17 cases, including 14 on theft charges.
Mamun was beaten by locals on suspicion of possible theft on Wednesday.
"As the man was a Bangali... a group of people trying to incite violence over the incident started demonstrating and torched shops in Boalkhali Natun Bazar [adjacent to Larma Square]," SP Jewel told this newspaper around 7:30pm,
Asked if fires were doused yet, he said, "It is a remote place, and the fire service also needs an escort to reach the spot."
"Army is already on duty in Dighinala. We're trying to bring the situation under control along with the army and BGB members," added Jewel.
Till the filing of this report at 8:00pm, there was tension between hill dwellers and Bengali settlers in different areas of Khagrachhari, said locals.
Contacted, Ahsan Habib Palash, range DIG of Police in Chattogram, said the law enforcement agencies were trying to bring the situation under control, adding, "A joint patrolling is going on by the law enforcement agencies comprising army, police and BGB."
"This night [Thursday] is very important," he said, adding, "We are trying to bring peace in the district."
[Our Rangamati and Chattogram staff correspondents contributed to the report]
Source- https://www.thedailystar.net/news/b...a3uoxeVS6A3qF0qDgM_aem_C3W9gn3au9hjEJ7U4zCU8w
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