Ramgarh Correspondent, CHT News
Friday, August 14, 2026
Tensions and anxiety have mounted among local
indigenous communities in the Garukata area of Ramgarh Upazila following
alleged attempts to frame an accidental fire as a targeted communal attack.
According to local sources, a fire broke out on the
night of August 13 at a barn owned by Md. Barek (also known as Khokon Sona),
40, a local Muslim Bengali settler. Barek had reportedly lit a smudge fire to
generate smoke to protect his cattle from insects, a routine practice, before
going to sleep. He later woke up to find the structure on fire.
As neighbors rushed to assist, Barek reportedly told
witnesses at the scene that the blaze was an accident caused by the smoke fire
he had started earlier. Witnesses present during the initial response included
village police member Md. Sabdan Hossain, local residents Yunus Hossain, Md.
Ariful, Amjad Hossain, and Bablu, as well as Kokon Tripura, president of the
Garukata Temple committee.
Despite initial statements confirming the accidental
nature of the fire, local sources reported that a group of Muslim Bengali
settlers arrived from Ramgarh Sadar the following morning and began
misrepresenting the event. Videos were allegedly circulated on social media
falsely accusing the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) and local
indigenous residents of arson, raising fears of intentional provocation.
Following the social media campaign, security
personnel from the Bangladesh Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrived at
the location, accompanied by a group of approximately 200 Bengali settlers on
motorcycles. The large gathering created severe panic among innocent indigenous
villagers, who feared potential retaliatory violence.
Local residents have called on the administration to
intervene neutrally and decisively to safeguard the lives and property of
indigenous families and prevent any further escalations.
Security forces and the assembled group had reportedly
departed the immediate incident site, though locals noted that army personnel
in eight vehicles remained deployed near the Globe Garden office area. Patrol
operations by joint Army and BGB units had already been active across various
parts of Ramgarh between August 4 and August 13.
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