Women and indigenous rights activists have called upon the police to handle the murder case of Sabita Chakma in an unbiased manner and immediately arrest the alleged.
In the first information report, the Khagrachari Police did not mention names of the accused although Sabita’s husband Dev Ratan had mentioned names, claimed the activists at a human chain formed in front of the National Museum in the capital yesterday.
Rights activist Khushi Kabir said: “It is frustrating to see the state acting in a communal manner. One vested quarter is trying to influence the case and save the criminals. That is why police did not record the names mentioned by Sabita’s husband.”
Thirty-year-old Sabita Chakma’s dead body was recovered from Kamalchari on February 15, but police are yet to arrest anyone, fearing a rise in “tension between Paharis and Bangalees.”
Earlier Khagrachhari Superintendent of Police M Mizanur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “The upazila parishad election was our first priority. Arresting someone could have raised Bangalee-Pahari tensions. So, we are taking our time.”
Rights activist Shipra Bose said the government could not deny its failure in ensuring justice. “Not only in the Chittagong Hill Tracts but rapes are taking place all across the country. However, particularly in CHT, the administration often neglects duty and the government also does not make them accountable and active.”
Bijoy Ketan Chakma, convener of the Manabendra Narayan Larma Memorial Foundation urged the government to raise awareness among the law enforcement agencies particularly those based in CHT.
“If they act in a ethnic way, peace cannot be restored here. They should differentiate between criminal and innocent not between Bangalee and Pahari,” he said.
Actionaid Bangladesh, Manusher Jonno Foundation, Bangladesh Mahila Parishad, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust, Kapaeeng Foundation, Bangladesh Indigenous Peoples’ Forum, Hill Women’s Federation and Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti participated in the human chain formed in protest of the killing.