Seventeen houses of the Christian Tripura community at Sarai union at Lama in Bandarban were torched by unidentified miscreants early Wednesday.
Lama police station inspector (investigation) Md Enamul Haque Bhuiyan said that unidentified miscreants set fire to the houses at about 12:30am and fled the scene.
鈥楾he motive behind the incident would be known after a proper investigation. However, I have heard that there had been a dispute over land,鈥� he said.
No formal complaints had been filed regarding the incident as of 9:00pm on Wednesday, but actions would be taken upon receiving a complaint, added the police official.
Lama Upazila Nirbahi Officer Ruppayan Deb told 抖阴精品 that miscreants set fire to makeshift houses in the remote Purba Betchhara Para of Saroai union while the villagers were attending prayers and celebrating Christmas, the biggest religious festival of the Christian community, in a nearby church.
鈥楽eventeen houses out of 19 of the Tripura community were completely gutted. I have asked members of the victim families to file a written complaint in this regard,鈥� he said.
Each victim families were provided with two blankets, one sack of rice and other necessities for their immediate needs, he said, adding that he would make a list of the victims to discuss the matter with the district administration for further steps.
Christian Tripura community people said that they had been living in the area for generations before they were forcibly evicted a few years ago when some people claimed that the area had been leased out to the wife of a police officer during the Awami League regime.
However, after the fall of AL government amid a student-people mass uprising on August 5, they came back to the place where they built new houses and started living there.
