News
No. 79/2014, Wednesday, September 17, 2014
TENSIONS flared up in Betchari of Khagrachari district yesterday
when Bengali settlers made an unsuccessful attempt to grab land belonging to
Jumma villagers.
According
to sources, at about 8am, a group
of 20 – 25 Bengali settlers led by Sobhan from Bhuachari cluster village began
to clear jungle on lands belonging to Jumma people in Middle Betchari.
“The
settlers began cutting jungles from near the house of Nitimoy Chakma, 35, son
of Mokkapeda Chakma,” an eyewitness told chtnews.com, adding that the settlers had
later destroyed the house.
He
said that as the Jumma villagers resisted the marauding settlers ran away.
After the incident,
army personnel have been deployed to the hotspot.
The
Bengali settlers had been trying to grab the land for a long time. Couples of
months ago, the Risho Kosei Kai, a Japan-based International Buddhist
development organization, set up a branch office on that piece of land.
But
on 8 May, the settlers destroyed the foundation stone of Risho Kosei Kai and
pulled down its signboard, and on 16 July, they tore down the
under-construction structure of Rissho Kosei Kai’s Khagrachari branch office,
defying a police order urging status quo in respect of the said land.
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