Another terrorist camp busted in Bandarban
Our Correspondent, Bandarban
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) yesterday busted another terrorist den in the thick forest of Naikhongchhari in Bandarban and seized one shotgun, one.303 rifle, 74 bullets and several sets of army uniforms in the second round of an anticrime operation. BDR sources said the operation led by Lieutenant Colonel Hafizur Rahman of 29 Battalion triggered a heavy exchange of fire near Lemuchhari hideout, sending the operatives fleeing through outlying hilly areas. The border guards fired 35 bullets. Earlier, a predawn raid was launched on a terrorist camp in the Bandarban forest in the early hours of Tuesday and army recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including anti-tank grenades, rocket launchers and assault rifles. A source said yesterday that the terrorists escaped with several AK-47 and M-16 rifles, revolvers and mortars before the army men barged into the camp on Tuesday. Superintendent of Police of Bandarban Nazibur Rahman told newsmen that the camps of police, BDR and army went on high alert after the two rounds of the operation that came hard on the heels of abduction of Kina Ram Tanchanga, an indigenous youth. Kina Ram could not be rescued despite strengthening of the operation. The terrorist who died in Tuesday's gunfight that raged amid an exchange of at least 200 bullets was identified as Cheo Su Ki, believed to be a foreign national. The 25-year-old man was in military uniform used by the troops of the 55 Army Division and the number 55 was labelled on the collar of his shirt, said an army official. The army also seized combat dresses and belts with AA engraved on them: AA stands for Arakan Army, the rebel group of Myanmar. A Union Parishad chairman alleged that a gang of 80, including 14 foreign nationals, widened its network far deep in Boangchhari, Ruma and Sadar upazila and its operatives haunt roads and waterways, spreading a blanket of terror almost every day. The gang with most of its members being indigenous unemployed youths has established its main base in Betchhara Badyapara, seven kilometres off Bandarban district headquarters, said locals. They also alleged that some foreign operatives sneaked into the bordering district, joined the terrorist outfit and engaged in extortion and abduction for ransom -- a claim refused by law enforcers. The operatives also pressure the families in the areas to pay them Tk 500 each during harvest, complained the residents.
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