Hill Voice, 28 July 2022, Rangamati: It has been reported that one woodcutter was killed and another villager injured in army firing in Kalapani area of Reservemukh under Kaptai upazila of Rangamati district.
The name of the deceased is known as Nikhil Das. He is the son of Mridul Das. On the other hand, the injured person is known to be a Marma villager. However, his name was not found till writing this report.
According to local sources, the deceased Nikhil Das and the injured Marma villagers went to Kalapani area to collect forest materials on Thursday (July 28) afternoon. At that time, a group of army on patrol opened fire indiscriminately without questioning them.
Nikhil Das was shot death on the spot. It is reported that his dead body was recovered and brought to Kaptai police station.
It is learnt that the Marma villager was shot in the back and the bullet exited in the front chest. Sources said he was seriously injured. But it is not known for sure where he is now.
To cover up the casualty in the indiscriminate firing, the army spread false propaganda about the deceased Nikhil Das labeling him as an associate of the Jana Samhati Samiti.
Many Marma and Tanchangya villagers have been killed by forest guards and security forces in Kaptai over the past years. But the victim or victim’s family did not get justice in any of these incidents.
