Sajek Correspondent, CHT News
Thursday, November 13, 2025
The army reportedly carried out a search operation at the under-construction Sajek College in Sajek Union, Rangamati, on Wednesday night.
According to local sources, around 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday (November 12, 2025), a group of army personnel from the Gangaram Mukh Camp — formerly the ECB Camp, now converted into a Bengal Camp — went to the under-construction college. Accompanied by the college’s night guard, Bodhisattva Chakma, the soldiers searched every room of the building.
During the search, the soldiers allegedly asked Bodhisattva Chakma whether any members of the United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) were present in the area. They reportedly instructed him not to stay on duty at night and threatened to detain him if he failed to comply.
The soldiers also visited the nearby home of Liton Chakma, a shopkeeper from Uzo Bazar adjacent to the college, and questioned him about the alleged presence of UPDF members, according to local reports.
Earlier the same night, around 8:00 p.m., a 40-member army team from the same camp had conducted a patrol in the Uzo Bazar area. During that operation, they allegedly harassed residents of two nearby homes — those of Purna Babu Chakma and Sanjib Chakma, villagers living beside the Gangaram Mukh Government Primary School — through aggressive questioning.
Local residents of Sajek had initiated construction of the college to improve access to higher education in the region. However, during the construction process, the Forest Department, reportedly acting on army instructions, imposed a ban on further construction and erected a signboard prohibiting the work. As a result, construction of the college has been halted.
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