Curfew slapped on Khagrachhari
1 Bangalee settler killed as violence flared up again; 50 hurt, 60 houses burnt; journalists assaulted
The authorities imposed a 10-hour curfew in Khagrachhari town and its surrounding areas from 9:00pm yesterday in the wake of fresh violence between Bangalee settlers and indigenous people in the area that left a Banglaee settler dead.
Around 50 people were injured and 66 houses reduced to ashes during the clashes yesterday that forced the authorities to roll out the army in the afternoon.
Muhammad Abdullah, deputy commissioner of Khagrachhari district, told The Daily Star that he imposed the curfew to avoid any untoward incident during the night.
The dead was identified as Anwar Hossain, 22, a class-IV employee of Khagrachhari municipality office. Shahidur Khan, officer-in-charge of Khagrachhari Police Station, said Anwar was shot in the head.Bangalee settlers set fire to at least 37 houses of indigenous people--20 in Mahajanpara, 10 in Narankhiya, four in Habongpuriya and three in Narikelbagan.
Indigenous people also torched at least 29 houses of Bangalee settlers--10 in Mohammadpur, seven in Shaalbagan, five in College Gate, five in Senakalyan and two in Masterpara.The body of Anwar, son of Rawshan Ali, was recovered at Shalbagan shortly after the houses were torched there.
Twenty vehicles were also vandalised during the clashes in the district headquarters. A number of journalists, including Talat Mamun, reporter of private television ntv, were among the injured.
Bangalee settlers allegedly broke the cameras of Channel i and Desh TV when camera crew Dilip Chowdhury and Mongsapru Marma were filming the clashes.
Witnesses said the clash broke out around 11:30am after a group of settlers belonging to Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad chased a procession of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), a platform of the indigenous people.
UPDF leader Ujjal Smriti Chakma alleged that Bangalee students chanted provocative slogans as their procession reached Bhanga Bridge area.UPDF brought out the procession as part of its daylong protests against the violence in Baghaichhari upazila in Rangamati district that left two people dead and many others injured.
Earlier, the indigenous people had also barricaded roads and waterways in Khagrachhari and Rangamati districts to press home their six-point demand. The indigenous demonstrators started gathering at more than 15 points in the town. They torched a truck in front of the Collegiate High School around 7:30am.
As the feuding groups started torching houses in the afternoon, the authorities imposed Section-144 in the town to stave off the spread of violence, reports our Khagrachhari correspondent.
The volatile situation started to calm down around 4:00pm after joint forces of the army, armed police battalion and the police began patrolling the town roads.The joint forces with megaphones asked residents to remain indoors and that if anyone was found outside, they would be arrested.Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital sources said seven people hurt in the clashes were admitted to the hospital while 12 received first aid.
State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku and Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder will visit the violence-prone areas of CHT today and hold meetings with the army, the indigenous people and the settlers."We cannot let the situation continue. We will ask all parties to show restraint and bring an end to the clashes," the home secretary told The Daily Star last night.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday allocated 100 tonnes of rice, Tk 5 lakh in cash and 500 corrugated iron sheets for the indigenous people affected by the recent violence and torching of houses at Bagaihat-Gangarammukh of Baghaichhari in Rangamati.
The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management allocated the aid under Gratuitous Relief in favour of Rangamati Deputy Commissioner for distribution among the affected people, says a food ministry press release.Our Rangamati correspondent adds: Members of the civil society in Rangamati formed a human chain demanding a fair investigation into Baghaichhari violence.
Around 1,000 people took part in the human chain in front of the Rangamati deputy commissioner's office around 10:00am.They also demanded immediate arrest and punishment of the people responsible for the incident, withdrawal of army camps and removal of Bangalee settlers from the areas.
Around 50 people were injured and 66 houses reduced to ashes during the clashes yesterday that forced the authorities to roll out the army in the afternoon.
Muhammad Abdullah, deputy commissioner of Khagrachhari district, told The Daily Star that he imposed the curfew to avoid any untoward incident during the night.
The dead was identified as Anwar Hossain, 22, a class-IV employee of Khagrachhari municipality office. Shahidur Khan, officer-in-charge of Khagrachhari Police Station, said Anwar was shot in the head.Bangalee settlers set fire to at least 37 houses of indigenous people--20 in Mahajanpara, 10 in Narankhiya, four in Habongpuriya and three in Narikelbagan.
Indigenous people also torched at least 29 houses of Bangalee settlers--10 in Mohammadpur, seven in Shaalbagan, five in College Gate, five in Senakalyan and two in Masterpara.The body of Anwar, son of Rawshan Ali, was recovered at Shalbagan shortly after the houses were torched there.
Twenty vehicles were also vandalised during the clashes in the district headquarters. A number of journalists, including Talat Mamun, reporter of private television ntv, were among the injured.
Bangalee settlers allegedly broke the cameras of Channel i and Desh TV when camera crew Dilip Chowdhury and Mongsapru Marma were filming the clashes.
Witnesses said the clash broke out around 11:30am after a group of settlers belonging to Parbatya Bangalee Chhatra Parishad chased a procession of the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), a platform of the indigenous people.
UPDF leader Ujjal Smriti Chakma alleged that Bangalee students chanted provocative slogans as their procession reached Bhanga Bridge area.UPDF brought out the procession as part of its daylong protests against the violence in Baghaichhari upazila in Rangamati district that left two people dead and many others injured.
Earlier, the indigenous people had also barricaded roads and waterways in Khagrachhari and Rangamati districts to press home their six-point demand. The indigenous demonstrators started gathering at more than 15 points in the town. They torched a truck in front of the Collegiate High School around 7:30am.
As the feuding groups started torching houses in the afternoon, the authorities imposed Section-144 in the town to stave off the spread of violence, reports our Khagrachhari correspondent.
The volatile situation started to calm down around 4:00pm after joint forces of the army, armed police battalion and the police began patrolling the town roads.The joint forces with megaphones asked residents to remain indoors and that if anyone was found outside, they would be arrested.Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital sources said seven people hurt in the clashes were admitted to the hospital while 12 received first aid.
State Minister for Home Shamsul Hoque Tuku and Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder will visit the violence-prone areas of CHT today and hold meetings with the army, the indigenous people and the settlers."We cannot let the situation continue. We will ask all parties to show restraint and bring an end to the clashes," the home secretary told The Daily Star last night.
Meanwhile, the government yesterday allocated 100 tonnes of rice, Tk 5 lakh in cash and 500 corrugated iron sheets for the indigenous people affected by the recent violence and torching of houses at Bagaihat-Gangarammukh of Baghaichhari in Rangamati.
The Ministry of Food and Disaster Management allocated the aid under Gratuitous Relief in favour of Rangamati Deputy Commissioner for distribution among the affected people, says a food ministry press release.Our Rangamati correspondent adds: Members of the civil society in Rangamati formed a human chain demanding a fair investigation into Baghaichhari violence.
Around 1,000 people took part in the human chain in front of the Rangamati deputy commissioner's office around 10:00am.They also demanded immediate arrest and punishment of the people responsible for the incident, withdrawal of army camps and removal of Bangalee settlers from the areas.
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