Police blame UPDF for gunfire in Sajek
Police Super of Rangamati briefs journalists in the town on an exchange of gunfire between army and UPDF at Sajek on Thursday. Agamir Somoy.
Police have blamed the hill-based organisation United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) for the gunfire in Sajek. The superintendent of police in Rangamati said an armed group affiliated with the UPDF opened fire on vehicles carrying tourists, forcing the army to return fire. However, the UPDF claimed that army personnel had fired indiscriminately in the area.
Police reported an exchange of gunfire between the army and an armed group on Thursday morning amid a blockade in Sajek imposed by two organisations backed by the UPDF.
Around 1,000 tourists got stranded at the Sajek tourist spot during the Durga Puja holidays. The army was bringing them back to safety when gunfire broke out during a clash with the protesters in the Ujjo Bazar area.
Rangamati Superintendent of Police Muhammad Rakib Hossain briefed reporters at a press conference in the district headquarters after noon, describing the entire incident that took place in Sajek, about 150 kilometres away. He said the situation there was now calm.
Describing how the clash began, he said, “Around 10am, when the convoy carrying tourists reached Ujjo Bazar, the protesters threw bricks and stones at the vehicles and law enforcement personnel.
“At one point, after the convoy carrying the tourists left the area, intermittent exchanges of gunfire took place between law enforcement personnel and the armed group.”
He said the gunfire continued from 11am until 1pm, adding that the situation came under the control of law enforcement agencies after 1pm.
At the press conference, officials said four to five army personnel and two police officers were injured by brick strikes during the incident. No information was yet available about casualties on the other side.
Blaming the UPDF for the gunfire, the superintendent of police said, “Based on intelligence information, we learned that armed UPDF members fired at the tourists. To ensure the tourists’ safety, law enforcement personnel returned fire.”
The Rangamati superintendent of police also said that operations against the armed attackers would continue.
UPDF Denies Involvement
Although police blamed the UPDF for the clash, the organisation said in a statement that no exchange of gunfire had taken place between army personnel and anyone in Sajek. It accused government forces of spreading fabricated information about the incident.
In a statement, UPDF spokesperson Angya Marma said that after speaking with local residents, there was not the slightest evidence to support reports that security forces had exchanged gunfire with any armed group on Thursday.
The statement claimed, “In reality, as part of an attempt to disrupt the ongoing peaceful road blockade by Sajek residents, who are demanding the removal of an armed group belonging to the Santu faction of the JSS from Sajek, security personnel themselves fired indiscriminately in different directions.”
Angya Marma also alleged that the protesters enforcing the road blockade had been attacked and beaten with batons, while homes had been vandalised and people intimidated.
The UPDF, an organisation formed in opposition to the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord, has opposed the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS), led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, popularly known as Santu Larma, since its inception. Clashes between the two groups have repeatedly resulted in bloodshed in the hill districts.
The Sajek Mass Rights Protection Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association, both backed by the UPDF, have called the blockade in the area. They are demanding the expulsion of the JSS’s “armed group” from Sajek.
After suspending the blockade during the Durga Puja holidays, the two organisations announced an indefinite blockade in Sajek starting Thursday.
The Jana Samhati Samiti had not issued any immediate statement regarding the alleged armed activities. However, the Santu Larma-led group has consistently dismissed UPDF allegations as baseless.
Meanwhile, the Rangamati district administration had decided on Wednesday to temporarily suspend tourist visits to Sajek Valley because of the blockade. However, as the blockade had been relaxed during the Puja holidays, around 2,000 tourists travelled to the area and became stranded. The exchange of gunfire occurred while they were being evacuated.
