Hill Voice, 6 June 2020, Bandarban: It has been alleged that fleeing from Cox’s Bazar, Rohingyas are entering Bandarban freely, after breaking the ongoing lockdown of Bandarban district imposed to prevent coronavirus infection.
Rohingyas are entering Bandarban freely sometimes by river ways, sometimes by road through the mountains, despite strict surveillance in the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar to prevent them from spreading elsewhere.
There is a Rohingya neighborhood called ‘Paingsi Ghona’ in Kalaghata of Ward No. 3 of Bandarban Municipality. Many Rohingya people have been living there for a long time.
According to Mohammad Amir Hossain Nayan, a local resident and headmaster of a government primary school, a few days ago, some Rohingyas from the Cox’s Bazar Rohingya camp entered Paingsi Ghona by evading the administration and stationed at the house of their familiar persons.
He added that Rohingyas do not follow any home quarantine. They are roaming freely with the help of some local youths. They are accompanied by a couple of beautiful unmarried Rohingya women. Due to which they have made connection with some local young boys.
The Rohingyas are threatening the villagers if anyone says anything. Md. Nabi Hossain, a veteran teacher of Paingsi Ghona area, called Ajit Kanti Das, the public representative of Ward No. 3 and informed him about the matter. He said that he would check the matter and take immediate action (Dainik Paribarton, 5 June 2020).
The residents of Kalaghata demand that the Rohingyas should not be allowed to live permanently in Kalaghata. They added, quarrels and disputes take place every day in the area of Pingsi Ghona. On top of that Rohingyas may thus increase crime in the area due to their arrival.
The Rohingyas from Myanmar are not going to be controlled in any way. They are involved in various crimes. Outbreaks of the Corona epidemic have also hit Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar. The government has now identified Cox’s Bazar as a high-risk district for the corona epidemic. Cox’s Bazar district is being declared as the first red zone in the country and hence was locked down till June 20.
Thus, Bandarban district is also at risk due to indiscriminate Rohingya infiltration. If anyone enters the Bandarban townwithout work, everybody has to go through various complications, such as, fines and even jail. Bandarban district is under close surveillance to deal with COVID-19. But despite this, the locals have questions about how the Rohingyas entered Bandarban.
Locals have alleged that former Bandarban municipality commissioner Nur Mohammad and current commissioners have made Rohingya settlements in the area. Nur Mohammad and Ajit Kumar Das bought a few acres of land from Nu Mong Prue, the son of the old Bohmong Raja, and later sold it to the Rohingyas.
They already enlisted in the voter roll and collected national ID, birth registration and resident certificate everything. On the other hand, Paingsi Ghona has been renamed as Rupnagar. Rohingyas and outsiders are being settled there. Earlier, Bir Bahadur himself inaugurated the village of Rupnagar. All in all, they are being used as vote bank of Awami League in the plans of the royal son Chhota Babu Numangprue, Nur Mohammad and Ajit Kusar Das.
Last year, 121 Rohingyas of 28 families settled in Dharmachhara and Painchhari of Dochhari Union in Naikhyongchhari Upazila. Despite a memorandum submitted by the locals to the UNO of Naikhyangchhari Upazila on 19 September 2019 to evacuate the Rohingyas, no action was taken by the administration.
Locals believe that at least 50,000 Rohingyas have infiltrated and settled in different upazilas of Bandarban district in the last few years. They have benefited from inclusion in the voter list, acquisition of national identity, land ownership, etc. Even they have been elected as a public representative in Upazila Parishad and Union Parishad of Naikhyongchhari Upazila.
In Naikhyongchhari, Lama, Alikadam and Sadar upazilas of Bandarban district, Rohingyas are involved in various criminal activities including theft, robbery, abduction and rape of women, murder, drug trafficking, land eviction, communal activities.
On 01 June 2020, Rohingya robbers had a gunfight with the BGB in the Baishphari area of Ghumdhum Union underNaikhyongchhari near the Myanmar border. One Rohingya robber was reportedly killed in this gunfight.
A few locals said that there are camps and training centers for Rohingya Muslim armed militant groups like ARSA, RSO, Aliqan etc. in the border area of Naikhyongchhari upazila.
In 2018, villagers of Chak community abandoned a village named Satgharya due to harassment and threatening of Rohingya robbers. A few years ago, 15 families of the Chak community were evicted from their land in Badujhiri area ofNaikhyangchhari, as a result of threats and harassment by land grabbers and Rohingya robbers.
In May 2015, Rohingyas were involved in the killing of a Buddhist monk named U Dhamma Wang Cha Bhikkhu. It has been alleged that at least 20 Marma and Thanchangya villagers have been killed in the last 5-6 years by Rohingya armed groups in Naikhyongchhari area.
