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News
No. 58/2012, Sunday, August 05,
2012
JUMMA
villagers in Tabalchari of Matiranga in Khagrachari district fled their homes
fearing communal attacks yesterday as the illegal Bengali settlers staged an
overnight protest march and chanted anti-Jumma slogans following a robbery
incident involving unidentified youths.
The settlers became agitated when they heard that three Bengali settlers including a goldsmith were stopped at Lal Mia Bagan and robbed of money and other valuables.
The robbery was committed at 7pm while they were traveling to Tabalchari from Taindong riding on a motorbike.
As the settlers proceeded towards Jumma inhabited areas, mounting on vehicles and chanting angry slogans, an atmosphere of fear and panic was created.
Later, the settlers held a protest march at Dak Bangla area and tried to whip up communal tension by chanting anti-Jumma slogans.
Fearing attacks, in this charged atmosphere, the Jummas in Master Para and Kodomtoli villages fled their homes into safety areas, with many of them crossing over to India. Others took refuge in nearby jungles.
The settlers kept agitating till 11pm and dispersed only when the Border Guards Bangladesh personnel ordered them to leave.
According
to reports, a flag meeting was held in the morning today between the BGB and
Indian BSF and the Jummas who took shelter in India
were sent back home.
Some
degree of calm has returned to the area but fear still lingers among the Jumma
villagers.
Tabalchari
and Taindong were once populated by Jumma people alone, but now they have been
reduced to a tiny minority, living in a few patches. Large swathes of the area
have already been taken over by Bengali settlers.
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