Four held over arson attack on houses of Tripura community

Fri Dec 27, 2024 12:10 AM

Police arrested four people over the incident of arson, in which houses of Tripura community in Bandarban’s Lama were torched early Wednesday.

The arrestees are Stephen Tripura, Joachim Tripura, Mong She Ma Tripura, and Md Ibrahim, said Shahidullah Kawser, superintendent of Bandarban police.

An elderly person of the Tripura community filed a first information report (FIR) accusing six rival Tripura Christian community members and a Bangalee over the incident, said a press release of the Chief Adviser Office’s press wing.

Preliminary police investigations have found that the arson could be linked to a long-running rivalry between two groups of Tripura community members, the release said.

Police are seriously probing the incident and have stepped up efforts to arrest the culprits, it said.

CHT Affairs Adviser Supradip Chakma is scheduled to visit the affected community in Notun Tongjhiri Tripura Para today.

The district authorities have provided immediate food and relief materials to the families. They said the affected families have permanent homes in a nearby village in Lama upazila, and the torched homes were their makeshift “Tong” homes, said the CA press wing.

In a press release, the Police Headquarters said the land was leased in the name of former IGP Benazir Ahmed’s wife after evicting the Tripura communities, and a rubber plantation was established there.

It also mentioned that 16 houses were burnt, causing damage worth Tk 4.8 lakh.

Drives are going on to arrest the other accused.

Meanwhile, expressing deep concern and condemnation over the arson attack, the CHT Peace Accord Implementation Movement and Human Rights Forum Bangladesh called for bringing those involved to justice after conducting a proper investigation.

The two organisations, in separate statements, also demanded compensation for the affected people and their prompt rehabilitation.

Due to the lack of proper implementation of the peace treaty, indigenous people have been continuously subjected to land grabbing and plundering by various criminal groups, said a statement, signed by two joint coordinators Zakir Hossain and Prof Khairul Islam Chowdhury of the Movement.

They called for immediate implementation of the accord and urged the authorities concerned to ensure appropriate and prompt compensation for the affected Tripura indigenous families and to strengthen security in the area to dispel fear and anxiety of the villagers.

In another statement, the Human Rights Forum Bangladesh strongly demanded the identification and legal action against those involved in the incident through an impartial probe and proper rehabilitation of the victims.