A Bangladesh Army trooper and three others, described as activists as Parbatya Chattogram Jana Sanghati Samiti (PCJSS) died in a gunfight in the hill tract district of Bandarban late on Wednesday, says the Inter-Services Public Relations Directorate (ISPR).
In a statement on Thursday, the ISPR that a group of armed men was about to extort money from local people at Bathipara area of Ruma upazila on Wednesday night.
“On a tip-off, a team of army led by Senior Warrant Officer Habibur Rahman went to the spot to prevent the extortion and came under heavy firing from the terrorist group at around 10:30pm.
The army opened fire, which left three Jana Sanghati Samiti [PCJSS] men shot and injured. While fleeing the scene, other JSS members opened fire on the army troop, leaving Habibur dead on the spot. Another soldier, Firoz Alam was shot on the leg,” reads the statement.
An SMG, 249 rounds of ammunition, three magazines, three muskets, five musket shells, four pairs of uniforms and Tk52,900 were seized during the raid, the army said.
Police said the three PCJSS activists later succumbed to their injuries.
“They were active members of the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Sanghati Samiti faction led by Santu Larma,” said Ruma police station OC Abul Kashem.
PCJSS was formed in 1972. But a group of indigenous people, led by Prasit Bikash Khisa, formed the United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) 16 years later, opposing the peace treaty.
On December 2, 1997, PCJSS inked the peace deal with the then-Awami League government, led by Sheikh Hasina, ending over two decades of tribal insurgency and bloodshed in the hill districts.
In 2010, PCJSS saw another faction, PCJSS (MN Larma), break away. The main PCJSS is currently led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma, also known as Santu Larma.
All the regional parties reached a compromise in 2015 and the violence almost came to an end.
But when a group split from UPDF in November 2017, calling itself UPDF (Democratic) and led by former UPDF leader Tapan Jyoti Chakma, the hills started to become violent again.
