Hill Voice, 14 July 2022, Bandarban: Rangdhajan Tripura, land rights activists and younger brother of the headman of No. 303 Daluchari Mouza of Sorai Union in Lama Upazila of Bandarban District, has been attacked.

According to local sources, at around 8:00 pm on Wednesday (July 13), 40-50 rubber company workers, with the instigation of Moazzem Hossain, MD and Kamal Uddin, Director of Lama Rubber Industries Ltd attacked Rangdhajan Tripura at Kaja Bazaar of Sorai Union in Lama under Bandarban districr.

Rangadhajan Tripura was seriously injured in the attack. He has been admitted to Lama Upazila Health Complex. The police could not make any arrest till the writing of this report.

Earlier, on April 26, 2022, a group of 60-70 outsider Bengalis and Rohingya workers led by Md. Kamal Uddin, Deputy Director of Lama Rubber Industries Company, set fire 350 acres of Jum farming land, hills and village common forest at Langkam Mro Karbari Para, Rengyeng Mro Karbari Para and Joychandra Tripura Karbari Para of Duluchhari Mouza of Ward No. 4 of Sorai Union in Lama Upazila.

It is to be mentioned that Lama Rubber Industries has occupied 1,600 acres of land in Natun Para, Dhenkichara Para and Noa Para of Doluchhari Mouza of Sorai Union under Lama Upazila. As a result, hundreds of indigenous families in three villages in the area are under threat of eviction.

250 Mro families in Lulein Mouza of Lama are under threat of eviction. One Bin Laden group has occupied 175 acres of land evicting 65 Mro, Tripura, Marma and permanent Bengali families in Fasakhali Union of Lama, and threatened to evict another 221 families. Mujibul Haque gang is conspiring to forcibly occupy about 500 acres of land attacking the Marma villagers in Ruposhi Union of Lama Upazila.

More than 500 acres of land were forcibly seized by Bin Laden gang in 2015 in Sangu mouza of Lama upazila, resulting in the eviction of three indigenous villages. The villagers were forced to leave their village and take shelter elsewhere.

Approximately 2,000 acres of land have been forcibly occupied by a national NGO called ‘Quantum Foundation’ in Doluchari, Lulein and Bumu mouzas of Sorai Union under Lama Upazila since 2001. 250 families of Mro villagers in the area are being deprived of Jum farming due to land occupation by Quantum Foundation in Lama. As a result, their livelihood is in danger.

The Quantum Foundation’s land occupations have affected not only the indigenous people, but also the permanent Bengali residents at Kyaju Para in Lama. On July 2, 2022, a press conference was held at the Reporters’ Unit in Dhaka on behalf of the permanent Bengali residents who were evicted by the Quantum Foundation. Abu Raihan Ali read the written statement of press conference on behalf of the victims.

It was said at the press conference that Shahid Al Bokhari, chairman of Quantum Foundation, has occupied several thousand acres of land in Daluchari mouza of Lama upazila.

It is further mentioned that Shaheed Al Bokhari of Quantum Foundation has about one thousand terrorist forces in Kyajupara of Lama and Daluchhari areas with paying them monthly salary. There are also lawsuits against all of them, and frequently the Quantum Foundation terrorists are openly roaming around with country-made weapons. It creates fear among the common people.