At least three were killed and a score others were injured in a gunfight between supporters of two hill political parties in remote forests of Jurachari in Rangamati early Friday. Another hill man went missing.
Another was killed at Gabachhara of Kaptai by unnamed armed people and a schoolboy was injured with bullet in Khagrachari.
Local people and the Jurachari police said gunshots rattled Bastipara of Maidang union, about 30 kilometres off the Jurachari upazila headquarters, about 4:00am as the armed supporters of Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati Samiti and its rival United People’s Democratic Front faced off over dominance in the area.
The upazila nirbahi officer, Abu Ali M Sajjad Hossain, said that the military had found three bodies on the spot and were conducting a combing operation in the place.
The superintendent of police of Rangamati, Masud-ul-Hasan, told New Age that three bodies were found on the spot. Two of the deceased were Niranjan and Kalachan. The identity of the other could not be established immediately, he said.
Local people said Friday was market day at Fakirachari and a group of Jana Sanghati supporters were headed for the market early morning.
Some UPDF activists, who were lying in wait, fired into the PCJSS people in which Niranjan Chakma, Ratan Chakma and Kalachan Chakma were killed.
The local people also said that UPDF supporter Lulangkar Chakma had been killed as the PCJSS men fired back. The groups traded gunshots for an hour, they added.
Jana Sanghati assistant publicity secretary Sajib Chakma, however, claimed Lulangkar was their man and he was injured in the gunfight. Sajib said earlier he was with the UPDF and he later joined the PCJSS.
The local administration could not give details but the people said the number of casualties was higher.
The upazila nirbahi officer said the clash had followed an attempt to abduct Niranjan by unnamed armed people.
Local people said that the UPDF had stronghold over most areas of Jurachari and the PCJSS also had some pockets there. The Fakirachari marketplace was one of PCJSS pockets and the attack was carried out to establish their control over the market, they said.
The PCJSS information and publicity secretary, Mangal Kumar Chakma, told New Age that armed people of the UPDF had abducted four of their party activists from the house of Maidang union council member Arun Chakma, killed three of them taking into jungle and left.
Mangal also said that another of their activists, Binay Chakma, had also been killed by the UPDF at Gabachhara of Kaptai on Friday.
The UPDF’s Rangamati district unit organiser Michel Chakma, however, said they heard of gunfight but their party was not involved in it. He attributed the gunfight to infighting in the PCJSS.
The New Age correspondent in Khagrachari, meanwhile, said schoolboy Ronal Chakma had sustained bullet injuries as unnamed people shot at him at Dangabazar of Dighinala.
Ronal’s father Dipen Chakma said the people of the Santu Larma-led PCJSS had attacked him. But local JSS leaders put the blame on the breakaway PCJSS faction led by Rupayuan Dewan for the attack.
