Lama (Bandarban), CHT News
Monday, June 22, 2026
A group of land-grabbing criminals attacked Tripura
indigenous villagers at Naziram Tripura Para, Ward No. 6, Gazalia Union, Lama
Upazila, Bandarban on Sunday, injuring several people including three siblings
from the same family. The attackers also attempted to burn down residential
homes in the village.
The incident took place on the afternoon of June 21,
2026.
The three victims - Shimon Tripura, Soitoti Tripura,
and Gudaichandra Tripura, son of the late Suryamani Tripura - have farmed and occupied the disputed land
under lawful ownership for approximately two decades. An outsider named Md.
Bazlur Rahman recently began claiming the land without legal basis. Rahman is
reportedly a fugitive from a 1983 electricity cable theft case and has evaded
authorities for some 25 years.
The land dispute was referred to arbitration on
multiple occasions, with local leaders, elected representatives, and members of
two union parishads in attendance. The proceedings confirmed the Tripura
family's documentation as valid, while Rahman's submitted documents were found
to contain inconsistencies, boundary discrepancies, and other irregularities.
Rahman nonetheless defied the arbitration outcome and began constructing
structures on the land illegally.
On Sunday at approximately 3:00 PM, when the Tripura
landowners moved to obstruct the unauthorized construction, Rahman and his
associates responded with a coordinated assault using sticks, machetes, knives,
and other locally-made weapons. All three brothers sustained serious
lacerations to the head and body. Several other villagers present at the scene
were also injured. Shimon Tripura, whose condition was reported as critical,
was admitted to Lama Upazila Health Complex along with the other injured.
The attackers returned at around 6:00 PM with a mob
estimated at more than 30 to 40 individuals and again entered the village, this
time attempting to set fire to homes. When residents tried to intervene, the
mob attacked them as well. The assailants then conducted a forced search of
homes in the village, reportedly seeking the three brothers and their family
members. Before withdrawing, the perpetrators openly threatened to kill the
landowners and their relatives with bladed weapons.
Local residents have strongly condemned the attack and
are calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Bazlur Rahman and his
associates.
Aggrieved students and community members have
announced a protest march and public rally in front of the Bandarban Press Club
on the morning of Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
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