The half day road blockade enforced by four organisations of indigenous people in Khagrachhari ended with sporadic clashes yesterday.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (Sadar circle) Sarwar Alam said the UPDF pickets clashed with police in Swanirbor, Khabongpuriya, Bus Stand and Collegiate School areas in the hill town with brickbats, stones and logs.
The pickets also blocked the roads of Swanirbhor, Shatinagar and Mohila College road areas of the district town.
Police also fired at least 28-30 rounds of tear-shell and rubber bullets to disperse the angry pickets. The pickets also vandalised five vehicles at different spots in the district, ASP Sarwar added.
United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF), Pahari Chhatra Sangram Parishad, Gonatantrik Jubo Forum and Hill Women’s Federation called the strike protesting attack on indigenous people by members of Bangladesh Border Gourds and land grabbing by newly established BGB members.
Lieutenant Colonel of 51-BGB Battalion Md Abul Kalam Azad said they had established the battalion on May 15, this year aiming to protect at least 47 kilometres unprotected border areas of the country.
But in a mysterious way, some ethnic people under the banner of a regional political forum UPDF, protested the establishment of BGB since the very beginning that resulted in Tuesday’s attack, he alleged.
Meanwhile, police Super Mizanur Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune that additional forces had been deployed in sensitive areas to avoid any untoward incident.
At least 23 people were injured in a clash between law enforcers and indigenous villagers over setting up of a new BGB battalion office at Babuchhara of Dighinala upazila in the district on Tuesday afternoon.
Local sources said a group of indigenous women and BGB personnel locked into an altercation when the latter put a flag in the proposed helipad area for BGB 51 battalion.
At one stage of altercation, both the groups engaged in a clash that lasted for more than an hour.
Indigenous people claimed they owned the place and that it was beyond the BGB’s jurisdiction.
