WorldPosted at: Oct 23 2026 8:23PM


Over 100 indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts injured by Bangladesh Army, alleges Asian Centre for Human Rights

Chattogram, Oct 23 (UNI) More than 100 indigenous people were injured after the Bangladesh Army allegedly baton-charged protesters in Sajek in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) on October 22, the Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) has claimed.
The protesters were demanding the removal of armed cadres of the Parbotto Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), while the rights group alleged that those injured were being denied medical treatment to prevent the incident from coming to light.
The protests have been going on intermittently since October 11, with Buddhists affiliated with the Sajek Gono Odhikar Rokkha Committee and the Sajek Karbari Association blocking roads to demand the removal of PCJSS armed cadres.
When the blockade resumed on October 22, army personnel allegedly baton-charged the protesters instead of acting against the armed group, according to the ACHR. Sajek, in Rangamati district, is a popular tourist destination.
The rights group also questioned the PCJSS's continued control of the CHT Regional Council, which it said had remained under the leadership of Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma, better known as Santu Larma, without elections since the 1997 Peace Accord. The PCJSS was formed as an insurgent group in 1972.
"No country governed by the rule of law and the Constitution should allow the leader of an armed group to head a legally constituted body such as the CHT Regional Council," said Tejang Chakma, ACHR's head of research.
Chakma pointed to the recent case of State Minister for Liberation War Affairs Ishraque Hossain, whom Prime Minister Tarique Rahman directed to resign on October 19 after he was filmed carrying a firearm during an anti-drug campaign. He questioned why Santu Larma continued to head the regional council despite allegations that PCJSS cadres possessed rocket launchers, light machine guns (LMGs), submachine guns (SMGs), AK-47-series rifles and other weapons.
Citing court records and media reports, Chakma said the group's possession of firearms had been documented previously. He referred to a Gauhati High Court judgment dated September 5, 2024, in National Investigation Agency v. Rohmingliana, which concerned the seizure of 31 AK-47 assault rifles, a Singapore-made LMG, a US-made Browning Automatic Rifle, 809 rounds of live ammunition and 32 magazines from three PCJSS cadres in Aizawl, Mizoram.
The ACHR has urged the international community to speak out against the PCJSS's continued control of the CHT Regional Council, comparing the situation to the Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The organisation said the issue went beyond national security, arguing that Bangladesh's Constitution and Penal Code should apply equally to all groups, including the PCJSS, which it said continued to hold control of the regional council.
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Tags: #Over 100 indigenous people of Chittagong Hill Tracts injured by Bangladesh Army# alleges Asian Centre for Human Rights
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