Lama (Bandarban), CHT News
Monday, June 22, 2026
A group of land-grabbing criminals attacked Tripura indigenous villagers at Naziram Tripura Para, Ward No. 6, Gazalia Union, Lama Upazila, Bandarban on Sunday, injuring several people including three siblings from the same family. The attackers also attempted to burn down residential homes in the village.
The incident took place on the afternoon of June 21, 2026.
The three victims – Shimon Tripura, Soitoti Tripura, and Gudaichandra Tripura, son of the late Suryamani Tripura – have farmed and occupied the disputed land under lawful ownership for approximately two decades. An outsider named Md. Bazlur Rahman recently began claiming the land without legal basis. Rahman is reportedly a fugitive from a 1983 electricity cable theft case and has evaded authorities for some 25 years.
The land dispute was referred to arbitration on multiple occasions, with local leaders, elected representatives, and members of two union parishads in attendance. The proceedings confirmed the Tripura family’s documentation as valid, while Rahman’s submitted documents were found to contain inconsistencies, boundary discrepancies, and other irregularities. Rahman nonetheless defied the arbitration outcome and began constructing structures on the land illegally.
On Sunday at approximately 3:00 PM, when the Tripura landowners moved to obstruct the unauthorized construction, Rahman and his associates responded with a coordinated assault using sticks, machetes, knives, and other locally-made weapons. All three brothers sustained serious lacerations to the head and body. Several other villagers present at the scene were also injured. Shimon Tripura, whose condition was reported as critical, was admitted to Lama Upazila Health Complex along with the other injured.
The attackers returned at around 6:00 PM with a mob estimated at more than 30 to 40 individuals and again entered the village, this time attempting to set fire to homes. When residents tried to intervene, the mob attacked them as well. The assailants then conducted a forced search of homes in the village, reportedly seeking the three brothers and their family members. Before withdrawing, the perpetrators openly threatened to kill the landowners and their relatives with bladed weapons.
Local residents have strongly condemned the attack and are calling for the immediate arrest and prosecution of Bazlur Rahman and his associates.
Aggrieved students and community members have announced a protest march and public rally in front of the Bandarban Press Club on the morning of Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
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