Dozens of people were injured in clashes between national minorities and Bengali people at places in Khagrachari on Saturday when the former had been enforcing a dawn-to-dusk road blockade in the hill district protesting against the rape of a 12-year-old Marma girl there.
The local administration, in a bid to avoid any further untoward incidents, imposed section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, restricting public gatherings in the Khagrachhari Municipality and Sadar upazila areas.
A large number of the members of the law enforcement agencies, including seven platoons of the Border Guard Bangladesh, had been deployed in the areas, home to various national minority communities.
The national minority people under the banner of 鈥楯umma Chhatra Janata鈥� began to enforce the blockade at about 5:00am on Saturday on the Chattogram鈥揔hagrachhari, Khagrachari鈥揜angamati and Khagrachari鈥揝ajek roads, leaving traffic movement on the roads halted, 抖阴精品 correspondent in the district reported.
A tense situation was prevailing there as protesters vowed to continue the blockade programme until the rapists and those involved in Saturday鈥檚 attacks were brought to justice.聽
Jumma Chhatra Janata leader Ukyanu Marma said that from the beginning, the protesters were enforcing the blockade peacefully but some miscreants attacked them to foil their peaceful demonstration.
鈥楢t least 30 of the protesters were injured in attacks in different places in the town since the afternoon. Minority people鈥檚 businesses were attacked and looted,鈥� he said.
Witnesses said that several Bengali people were also injured during the clashes.
In Dhaka and Chattogram, national minority students and common people protested against Saturday鈥檚 incident in Khagrachari and demanded the arrest of those behind the attacks.
The protesters in Khagrachari alleged that, during the blockade, they were attacked near Sadar upazila Council premises and bricks and stones were thrown at them, leaving two protesters injured.
Since then, clashes occurred between the national minority people and Bengalis at places in the district town.
Local people said that the situation remained tense as of 9:00pm on Saturday as many students and youths in different areas in Khagrachari town were seen vigilant around Buddhist temples in fear of the recurrence of the past year鈥檚 incidents in September when many temples were attacked and vandalised.
Amid the violence, a notice signed by district commissioner ABM Iftikharul Islam Khandakar was issued imposing section 144 in the district town and Sadar upazila.
The notice said that section 144, which came into effect at 2:00pm on Saturday, would remain in effect for an indefinite period to maintain law and order.
The directive stated that legal action would be taken against those who would violate the order.
Neither the Khagrachari superintendent of police, Md Arefin Jewel, nor the Sadar police station officer-in-charge, Abdul Baten Mridha, could be reached for comments despite several attempts.
Earlier on Friday night, Chittagong Hill Tracts affairs adviser Supradip Chakma, addressing an event in Khagrachari鈥檚 Matiranaga, called for unity and urged people of all religions, ethnicities, and communities to uphold mutual respect, tolerance and humanitarian values.
On Friday, Jumma Chhatra Janata announced the dawn-to-dusk blockade to press the demand for the arrest of all individuals involved in the rape of the Marma schoolgirl on September 23 in Khagrachari鈥檚 Singinala.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Socialist Students鈥� Front, Bangladesh Students鈥� Union, Manusher Jonno Foundation and Bangladesh Nari Mukti Kendra in four separate statements on Saturday demanded immediate arrest of the rapists.
Bangladesh Students鈥� Union, in its statement, also protested against the detention of a protesting student leader, Ukyanu Marma.
Ukyanu was reportedly picked up by the members of the law enforcement agencies and was tortured Thursday night. He was released later that night.
In September 19鈥�20, 2024, four men were killed and scores were injured as a wave of sectarian violence swept the restive hill districts of Khagrachhari and Rangamati, sending hundreds of national minority families on the run to save their lives, leaving behind their houses and businesses going up in flames.
The violence was stoked by the discovery of the body of a Bengali man, Mohammad Mamun, on September 18.
