On the first of January this year, houses of 3 Mro families were set on fire and burned to the ground while 6 others were looted and destroyed. The attack took place in Regenpara of the Lama Upazila of Bandarban.
Those who lost their homes were Chamrum Mro, Chingchong Mro and Rengyung Mro. And the houses that have been demolished belonged to Duitheng Mro, Rengnak, Rengyung Mro, Langrung, Chitlit Mro and Yongring Mro.
The perpetrators stole rice, cloths, anything valuable and even farm animals. Fortunately, no lives were lost in the attack. The residents were able to escape the burning homes. But sadly, with nothing but the cloths on their backs. All families are struggling financially and no one was in the position to help the victims. While many took refuge with their relatives, others were left stranded in the cold and had to light fires to survive the night.
Residents accuse Lama Rubber Industry Limited for the ambush. However, the manager of Lama Rubber Industry, Arif Hossain, claimed that they were unaware of the assault.
The residents stated that 4 trucks full of people that were allegedly led by people in charge of Lama Rubber Industry initiated the attack.
It is worth noting, Lama Rubber Industry has been trying to occupy 400 acres of land belonging to residents of Rengen Karbari (Mro) Para, tyLangkam Karbari (Mro) Para and Jayachandra Tripura Para but were met with resistance. They have carried out various methods to shun them out by poisoning the water source, attacking the leader of the land protection movement, and recently burning the land.
On 2nd January, around 9 pm, the villagers saw multiple torchlights near the area again, causing a state of panic. The men took turns guarding all night, to prevent another attack. Half an hour after reporting this to the police, the lights disappeared, even so, the locals remained anxious.
Written by Oritree Chakma
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