Intelligence agencies patronizing KNA: VP Nur
Nurul Haq Nur, president of the Gono Odhikar Parishad, has accused the Sheikh Hasina government’s intelligence agencies of patronizing the Kuki-chin National Army in the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
At a rally in the capital Dhaka on 14 July, Mr. Nur said, ‘Please come to television talk shows and I will prove it” (that the intelligence agencies are patronizing the KNA).
He also accused the Hasina government of promoting the military in the CHT.
The Kuki-chin National Army is an armed group, which operates in a very limited area in Bandarban district and whose members are drawn mainly from indigenous Bawm community.
It came into national spotlight when its member killed several innocent villagers last year. They are also blamed for the killing several army personnel and kidnapping many civilians, both Bengali and indigenous peoples.
The Bangladesh Army has been cracking down on them since October last year.
Convicted rapist Abdur Rahim granted bail in High Court
The High Court of Bangladesh has granted bail to a convicted rapist, Md. Abdur Rahim, much to the chagrin of the human rights campaigners.
A high court bench comprising Justice S. M. Kuddus Zaman and Justice Shahid Noor Uddin ordered his bail on the condition that the appellant (Abdur Rahim) would give away one acre of land to his victim, a Chakma girl who was 16 years old when she was raped.
Although the bail was granted on 1 June, Abdur Rahim, headmaster of Karallyachari R. S. High School, could not get out of jail until 21 June as the court put the operation of the order of the bail on hold for 15 days to allow it to monitor whether its directions were being followed.
The Hill Women’s Federation and CHT Women Association (Parbattya Chattagram Nari Sangha) in a joint statement on 14 July criticized the High Court decision, saying it both belittled the stature of the court and instilled a sense of humiliation and injustice in the victim.
They urged the court to revoke its decision and uphold the judgment of the lower court, which sentenced Abdur Rahim to rigorous life imprisonment for raping his student.
Leader of seven progressive feminist organisations also expressed serious concern over the issuance of bail to Md. Abdur Rahim.
In a joint statement on 18 July, they said Rahim had willfully submitted forged marriage documents to the court to secure bail. The statement was signed by Luna Noor, a central committee member of the Women Cell of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, Shampa Basu, president of Socialist Women’s Forum, Bonhi Shikha Jamali, president of Sramajibi Nari Moitree, Aparajita Chanda, general secretary of Nari Sanghati, Amina Aktar, joint general secretary of Biplobi Nari Forum, Sima Dutta, president of Bangladesh Nari Mukti Kendra and Niti Chakma, president of Hill Women’s Federation.
According to the FIR of the case (Women and Children case No. 97/2021), the victim, a former student of Karallyachari R. S. High School in Longudu Upazila under Rangamati district, was raped by Abdur Rahim inside a room of the school hostel on 25 September 2020.
Settler attempts to rape a Jumma girl in Matiranga
On 29 November 2022, the District and Sessions Judges Court of Rangamati sentenced Abdur Rahim, under section 9(1) of the Women a Children Repression Prevention Act, 2000, to rigorous life imprisonment and fined him Tk. 10,00,000. The court also ordered that he would remain imprisoned for another three years if he fails to pay the fine.
On 2 October, a seventh grade Jumma girl student was subjected to an attempted rape in Matiranga of Khagrachari district when she was on her way to attend private tuition classes.
The would-be rapist, Md. Nazim Uddin, was caught in action and was handed over to police after being beaten by a mob.
Nazim, a Bengali settler, is a son of Gedu Mian of Ward No. 2 of Nabi Nagar in Matiranga Upazila. The incident took place at about 8 a.m. at Babupara.
Witnessing the crime, a three-wheeler Tomtom driver alerted the nearby people who rushed to the scene and grabbed the culprit.
The police registered a case against Nazim and sent him to Khagrachari jail.
Jumma woman gang-raped in Manikchari
On 25 October, three Bengali settlers reportedly raped a 19-year old Marma woman in Manikchari in Khagrachari district.
The victim, a resident of Chokkhibil in Manikchari, works in a factory in Chattogram city (formerly Chittagong).
On the day of the incident, she was returning to her village home on vacation. As she was walking down the road to the village after getting off a bus at Gochchabil bazar and reached Lechubagan, the settlers grabbed her, took her to a roadside jungle and took turn raping her.
The incident took place at 1:30 pm.
On 26 October, the victim’s father filed a case with Manikchari police station in connection with the incident.
The victim was sent to Khagrachari hospital for medical examination.
On 29 October, police arrested the suspected perpetrators Md. Mizanur Rahman, Md. Shaha Alam and Hossain Ali from Manikchari.
Jumma girl subjected to an attempted rape in Langudu
On 25 October, a 15-year old Jumma girl was subjected to a rape attempt by a Bengali settler in Langudu, who later asked for forgiveness for the incident, which took place in the village of Rangee-para.
According to sources, at 12 noon Md. Mashum, 25, son of Md. Rafiz Uddin from Rahmatpur, Ward No. 9 of Gulchakhali Union, went to Rangee-para to cut grass to feed his cows.
After cutting the grass, he visited his victim’s house and asked for drinking water.
She was alone in the house, and Mashum took the advantage of this and attacked her. But she screamed for help, and a young boy from a nearby house rushed there to save her.
However, before more people arrived, her tormentor had run away.
Later in the day Mashum’s mother, along with two settler elders, went to the victim’s house and asked for forgiveness for what had happened.
On 26 October, Md. Helal Uddin, an incumbent UP member, held a meeting of the elders of both communities, in which it was decided that Md. Mashum would be held responsible for any sexual assaults on Jumma girls in the area in future.
The victim is a ninth grade student in a nearby high school.
