Attack on the Mro: Case finally filed after six days

A case has been filed six days after the incident of torching and vandalism of at least a dozen Mro community homes at Rengyan Mro Para of Sorai union of Bandarban's Lama upazila on January 2.

Rengweng Mro Karbari (village head) filed the case with Lama Police Station today naming 10 people and 150 to 170 unnamed, reports our Bandarban correspondent quoting Shahidul Islam Chowdhury, officer-in-charge of the police station.

Lama Rubber Industries Limited's Chairman Syed Moazzem Hossain, 62, and Project Coordinator Md Kamal Uddin, 60, were among the 10 named accused.

Asked about the delay in filing the case, Rengweng Mro told The Daily Star that they were afraid of filing the case as they are under the surveillance of rubber company staffers.

"We filed complaints for such incidents earlier but got no outcome. Also, we could not go to local bazar to purchase daily commodities after filing the complaints. In addition, our people got beaten up by the company staffers," he added.

The victims alleged that the attack on January 2 was carried out by people of a rubber plantation to drive them away from the area, but the plantation company denied it and said that the indigenous people were building houses on company land.

The attackers also looted mobile phones, household utensils, poultries, cattle, and clothes of the villagers.