News No. 68/2014,
Friday, August 22, 2014
TWO innocent villagers
have been tortured by army and Borkha Party terrorists in Laxmichari, sources
say.
According to local
sources, a group of army personnel from Laxmichari zone raided two villages,
Hazachari and Chongrachari, approximately 8 miles north of Laxmichari Upazila
headquarters, and arrested them from their homes.
The arrested have been
identified as Guringya Chakma, 25, son of Bali Dhan Chakma of village Hazachari
under Dullyatoli Union No. 2, and Borpeda Chakma, 35, son of Laxmi Dhan Chakma,
of village Chongrachari under Sindukchari Union of Mahalchari Upazila.
A member of the
military-backed Borkha Party, Jyoti Chakma aka Mokko, son of late Natun Sen
Chakma of village Rannyamahcara under Dullyatoli Union, assisted the army in
arresting them.
He accompanied the
army during the whole operation.
When the arrested
Jummas were being taken away, a widow, known as Zharna Ma, from Lambachara
village saw them and protested against their arrest, telling the army that
‘they are innocent people’. She also asked the soldiers why they had been
arrested.
At this point the
Borkha man, Jyoti Chakma, butted in, saying ‘these people help the terrorists.’
After that, the army
tied the two men to a jackfruit tree with a rope in Zharna Ma’s courtyard and
beat them severely.
The Borkha man is also
said to have taken part in the beating that left them seriously wounded.
After the beating, the
army personnel and the Borkha man went back to their camps in Laxmichari,
leaving them behind.
Borkha Party is a
vigilante group formed by army in Laxmichari in mid-2009 to counter the growing
influence of the UPDF.
Since then, the Borkha
has suffered many setbacks with peoples’ resistance to their criminal
activities growing.
Against this backdrop,
the Santu group entered on the scene and began supporting the Borkha Party.
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