It is not possible to hold democratic elections without first stopping the use of illegal weapons in the hilly areas, Rangamati lawmaker Dipankar Talukdar has said.
“There are some people who do not want the hill areas to be developed. They have always impeded development works in the hills through violence,” the Awami League MP said while speaking at an event in Belaichari upazila of the district on Wednesday morning.
Instances of gun violence are not uncommon in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), he said. Illegal toll collections by extortionists are also rife.
Stating that communal forces and users of illegal weapons could never be friends of the people, he urged the army to intensify its activities against illegal armed groups in the hills.
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On October 16, Nethoyai Marma, 56, who had received the ruling party’s ticket for the elections to Chitmaram union parishad under Kaptai upazila of Rangamati, was shot dead at his home in Aga Para by some unidentified gunmen.
Four armed members of the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) were recently nabbed by the army on allegations of being involved in terrorist activities and extortion in different upazilas of Rangamati.