News No. 49/2014,
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
BENGALI settlers
attacked a house belonging to a Jumma villager as part of a land grab attempt,
as the army searched another one in Patachara Union of Ramgarh Upazila.
According to sources,
the incident took place at noon today, Tuesday, when a group of settlers
numbering between 10 and 15 and led by Sirajuddollah from Batnatoli in
Manikchari went to attack the house of Rongila Chakma in Patachara.
But as the villagers
assembled to defend themselves, the settlers held back.
However, a little
later a group of army personnel from a nearby camp appeared at his house and
carried out an extensive search inside it.
Finding nothing
incriminating, the soldiers went back to their camp.
In tandem with the
search, the settlers, on the other hand, attacked and ransacked the house of
Swandeep Tripura, 20, son of Hasiram Tripura, whose land Siraj claims to be his
own.
One villager told
chtnews that Rangila Chakma, 45, had been cultivating one and a half acres of
paddy and bumpy (hilly) land for the last twelve years in Belchari.
“Like in the previous
years, he has prepared the land for planting paddy for this year as well”, he
added.
But a Bengali settler
going by the name of Sirajuddollah suddenly laid claim to the land and made
futile attempts to occupy it.
After failing to grab
the land, Sirajuddollah and his fellows went to attack him in his house today.
Siraj is also said to
claim Swandeep Tripura’s land to be his own.
Villagers told chtnews
that they thought the appearance of the army at the scene was in support of the
Bengali settlers.
Rangila Chakma and
Swandeep Tripra went into hiding in fear of arrest.
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