Police have filed three cases over the recent violence in Guimara and Sadar upazilas of Khagrachhari, accusing more than a thousand unidentified people.

According to police, two of the cases, including one for murder, were filed with Guimara Police Station, while the other was lodged with Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station.

Guimara Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Enamul Haque Chowdhury said the violence broke out between 11:30 am and 4 pm on September 28 in Guimara, when groups of people defied Section 144 and carried out attacks on members of the army, police, and other law enforcement agencies. Arson, vandalism, and clashes ensued, and later, three bodies were recovered from a paddy field.

As families of the deceased and affected did not file any case, SI Sohel Rana filed two cases on behalf of the police on Wednesday night, said the OC. In the murder case, 100 unidentified people were accused, while 250 others were made accused in the case over violence, attacks, and arson.

Meanwhile, another case was filed with Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station over the September 27 clashes in Mahajan Para, Swanirbhar, and near the upazila parishad area. The clashes broke out after groups of people defied Section 144.

OC Abdul Baten Mridha of Khagrachhari Sadar Police Station said SI Shahin filed the case on Wednesday noon against 700 to 800 unidentified people.

The unrest stemmed from an allegation of gang rape of a Marma teenage girl in Sadar upazila on September 23. However, a three-member medical team later found no evidence of rape in their examination.

Following the allegation, police, aided by the army, arrested one youth, while demands persisted for the arrest and trial of other suspects. To press their demand, ‘Jumma Chhatra-Janata’ enforced a half-day road blockade, halting traffic on the Chattogram-Khagrachhari, Khagrachhari-Rangamati, and Khagrachhari-Sajek roads.

Amid the tension, at least three people were killed in the September 28 violence in Guimara. The district administration later formed a five-member probe committee to investigate the incident.

Subsequently, ‘Jumma Chhatra-Janata’ suspended their blockade until October 5 following assurances that their eight-point demand would be addressed and considering the Durga Puja celebrations.

The administration, on the other hand, said Section 144 would be lifted gradually once the situation fully returns to normal.

Since then, normalcy has been gradually returning to Khagrachhari.