India Rejects Suggestion of Involvement In Bangladesh Hill Districts Violence
New Delhi: India on Friday (October 3) strongly rejected allegations by a Bangladeshi government adviser who suggested that recent unrest in the Chittagong Hill Tracts may have been instigated with backing from India.
At the weekly media briefing, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said: “We categorically reject these false and baseless allegations.” He added that “the interim government, which is unable to maintain law and order in Bangladesh, has routinely sought to shift the blame elsewhere.”
Jaiswal argued that Dhaka should instead look inward, saying it would “do well to introspect and conduct serious investigations into the action of local extremists committing violence, arson and land grab against the minority communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”.
His comments came after home affairs adviser Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told journalists in Dhaka earlier this week that instability in Khagrachhari was being fuelled by “certain quarters”, allegedly with support from India or “fascist groups”. He made the remarks on Monday while attending a police event in the capital.
Chowdhury had said that a vested group was attempting to disrupt Durga Puja celebrations in the hill region, even as security forces had been deployed to maintain order.
He also noted that some miscreants had been firing from hilltops and suggested that weapons often came from outside the country.
The adviser's comments followed several days of violence in Khagrachhari district.
The unrest in Khagrachhari began after the alleged rape of a teenage girl on September 24. The incident sparked protests and, from September 27, indefinite blockades across the three hill districts under the banner of the Jumma Chhatra Janata to press eight demands, including the arrest and trial of the suspects.
Violence escalated on September 28 in Guimara, where clashes led to three deaths and injuries to more than 20 people, among them army and police personnel.
Dozens of houses and shops were also torched.
In the days that followed, police moved to take legal action. Two cases were registered at the Guimara police station on the night of October 1 and another at the Khagrachhari police station, with officials confirming the three cases the next morning.
Together they accuse more than 1,100 unidentified people of offences including murder, arson and obstructing government duties.
The situation in the hill districts continues to remain tense, with prohibitory orders still in force.
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