Hill Voice, 19 September 2025, Special Correspondent: Today marks one year of the horrific communal attacks on the indigenous Jumma people by Bengali settlers with the help of the army in Dighinala Upazila and Khagrachari Sadar of Khagrachari Hill District. In the said attacks, 1 Jumma was killed and 4 Jummas were injured by the Bengali settlers in Dighinala, more than fifty shops, 24 motorbikes and auto-rickshaws were burnt to ashes, and 2 more Jummas were killed and many were injured in the firing of army personnel in Khagrachari Sadar.

The attacks were not limited to Khagrachari district. The next day, the student and youth society organized a peaceful procession and protest rally in Rangamati town to protest the communal attacks on Jummas in Dighinala and Khagrachari, but there too, there were several rounds of communal attacks, vandalism, and looting on Jummas by Bengali settlers. In this, a Jumma student was brutally killed, Regional Council office and vehicles were set on fire, and a Buddhist monastery was vandalized and looted.

After the said communal attacks, there was a storm of widespread protests from various human rights organizations, personalities, and political, civic, and student organizations in the country and abroad, including the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

In the face of widespread protests, on 26 September 2024, the Interim Government led by Dr. Yunus formed a 7-member investigation committee with the Additional Divisional Commissioner (Development) of Chittagong Division as the convener and the Additional District Magistrate of Rangamati Hill District, Additional District Magistrate of Khagrachari Hill District, Additional District Magistrate of Bandarban Hill District, Additional Superintendent of Police of Rangamati Hill District, Additional Superintendent of Police of Khagrachari Hill District and Additional Superintendent of Police of Bandarban Hill District as members.

The committee was tasked with ‘investigating the actual cause of the violent incident, identifying those involved in the incident and formulating appropriate recommendations to prevent recurrence of similar incidents in the future’ and was instructed to submit a report to the Divisional Commissioner of Chittagong Division within the next 2 weeks.

But even in the past one year, it is not known that the investigation report of the said investigation committee has been made public. On the other hand, it is known that none of the people involved in the communal attacks that took place in Dighinala and Khagrachari Sadar have been arrested and no case has been filed in the past one year.

Now, the question of many is, like during the previous fascist government, will such communal attacks remain unpunished during the current interim government which formed as a result of the anti-discrimination uprising of July-August? Will the criminals get impunity?

It is worth mentioning that on September 18, 2024, a settler Bengali named Md. Mamun (40) was chased by a mob while stealing a motorbike from Madhupur in Khagrachari Sadar and later died after being seriously injured in a mob beating. It is learnt that at least 17 cases related to theft and drugs were pending against Mamun at that time. Later that day, a group of Bengali settlers led by a communal group tried to attack Jummas in several areas of Khagrachari Sadar including Madhupur. At one point, when the Jummas came forward to resist, the settlers retreated.

But the next day (September 19), at around 4 pm, Bengali settlers under the banner of the Bengali Chhatra Parishad held a rally and procession in Dighinala Upazila Sadar, giving provocative speeches, and at one point, they attacked Jummas and set fire to shops in the surrounding areas and in Larma Square of Station Bazar in Dighinala Sadar in front of the army. The attacks and arson continued until around 9 pm. In this, a Jumma named Dhana Ranjan Chakma (52) was seriously injured and died. In addition, 4 people were seriously injured. It is known that property worth at least 5 crore takas was damaged due to the arson of shops and houses.

On the same night (September 19), when a section of the agitating Jumma student and youth community took to the streets in Khagrachari Sadar to protest the attack, a group of army arrived at one point. During the heated exchange of words and tension between the two sides, the army personnel opened fire, killing two youths, Junan Chakma (20) and Rubel Tripura (30). It is learnt that at least 20 other students and youth were injured during this time.