Ramgarh Correspondent, CHT News
Friday, August 14, 2026
Tensions and anxiety have mounted among local indigenous communities in the Garukata area of Ramgarh Upazila following alleged attempts to frame an accidental fire as a targeted communal attack.
According to local sources, a fire broke out on the night of August 13 at a barn owned by Md. Barek (also known as Khokon Sona), 40, a local Muslim Bengali settler. Barek had reportedly lit a smudge fire to generate smoke to protect his cattle from insects, a routine practice, before going to sleep. He later woke up to find the structure on fire.
As neighbors rushed to assist, Barek reportedly told witnesses at the scene that the blaze was an accident caused by the smoke fire he had started earlier. Witnesses present during the initial response included village police member Md. Sabdan Hossain, local residents Yunus Hossain, Md. Ariful, Amjad Hossain, and Bablu, as well as Kokon Tripura, president of the Garukata Temple committee.
Despite initial statements confirming the accidental nature of the fire, local sources reported that a group of Muslim Bengali settlers arrived from Ramgarh Sadar the following morning and began misrepresenting the event. Videos were allegedly circulated on social media falsely accusing the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) and local indigenous residents of arson, raising fears of intentional provocation.
Following the social media campaign, security personnel from the Bangladesh Army and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) arrived at the location, accompanied by a group of approximately 200 Bengali settlers on motorcycles. The large gathering created severe panic among innocent indigenous villagers, who feared potential retaliatory violence.
Local residents have called on the administration to intervene neutrally and decisively to safeguard the lives and property of indigenous families and prevent any further escalations.
Security forces and the assembled group had reportedly departed the immediate incident site, though locals noted that army personnel in eight vehicles remained deployed near the Globe Garden office area. Patrol operations by joint Army and BGB units had already been active across various parts of Ramgarh between August 4 and August 13.
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