30 indigenous homes, shops set on fire in Khagrachhari

At least 30 houses and business establishments belonging to indigenous people came under arson attacks in Khagrachhari’s Dighinala upazila yesterday.
The incident took place around 5:00pm in the Larma Square area of the upazila headquarters.
Witnesses say the attacks followed the death of a Bangali man, Md Mamun, in a mob beating on charges of stealing a motorbike in Khagrachhari town on Wednesday morning.
Protesting the killing, a group of Bangali settlers brought out a procession in Dighinala upazila headquarters in the afternoon.
Many of them delivered provocative speeches from the procession. At that time, some people from Bangali and indigenous communities got into heated arguments, said Inasta Chakma, who was present there.
“At one stage, an announcement was made using a local mosque’s loudspeaker that indigenous people had attacked Bangalis. Immediately, several hundred people gathered there and started attacking indigenous people and torching their business establishments.
“Like many, we fled from the area and took shelter in the forest. From here, we could see the blaze and smoke. We fear many of our houses and businesses have been torched,” she told The Daily Star in the evening over the phone.
Avenue Sangma, who owns a shop at Larma Square in Dighinala upazila town, said, “My shop was vandalised and later torched at around 5:30pm. As far as I saw, some 30 to 40 shops were torched in this area.
“We could barely save our lives by fleeing to the forest areas.”
When contacted, former Dighinala upazila parishad chairman Dharma Joyti Chakma confirmed the arson attacks but could not specify how many houses and establishments were targeted.
He said the situation escalated when the settlers beat up a coconut hawker from an indigenous community.
“A similar incident almost took place yesterday [Wednesday] when a group of settlers gathered in Khagrachhari town and were shouting provocative slogans against indigenous people.”
Md Arefin Jewel, superintendent of police of Khagrachhari district, told The Daily Star, “Tension is running high in Dighinala, centring the death of a man named Mamun, who was killed by a mob a day ago.
Citing the police database, he said Mamun was wanted in 17 cases, including 14 on theft charges.
He was beaten by locals on suspicion of possible theft on Wednesday.
“As the man was a Bangali… a group of people trying to incite violence over the incident started demonstrating and torched shops in Boalkhali Natun Bazar [adjacent to Larma Square],” SP Jewel told this newspaper around 7:30pm,
Asked if fires were doused yet, he said, “It is a remote place, and the fire service also needs an escort to reach the spot.
“Army is already on duty in Dighinala. We’re trying to bring the situation under control along with the army and BGB members.”
Till the filing of this report  at 8:00pm, there was tension between hill dwellers and Bangali settlers in different areas of Khagrachhari, said locals.
Contacted, Ahsan Habib Palash, range DIG of Police in Chattogram, said the law enforcement agencies were trying to bring the situation under control, adding, “A joint patrol by the army, police and BGB is going on.”
[Our correspondent from Rangamati and staff correspondent from Chattogram contributed to the report]