A group of Chittagong University students blockaded the Chattogram-Rangamati highway on Tuesday, demanding immediate recovery of their five fellows who were abducted a week ago.
The demonstrators also issued a 48-hour ultimatum, warning that otherwise they would cut off all communications between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the rest of the country.
The demonstration began about 12:30pm at the university鈥檚 Shahid Buddhijibi Chattar, led by students from the departments of dramatics, zoology and international relations as well as the Institute of Fine Arts. General students also took part in the protest.
The protesters later marched towards the university鈥檚 Gate 1 and blocked the adjacent highway, resulting in severe traffic congestion on both sides of the road. The blockade was lifted about 30 minutes later at about 1:40pm.
One of the demonstrators, Shafkat, a first-year student at the university, said, 鈥業t has been a week, yet there is no trace of the five abducted students. The government must take a stricter stance.鈥�
Ashiqur Rahman, a 2022鈥�23 session student of Islamic studies, said, 鈥楾he joint forces have failed to locate them. This is a clear failure on the government鈥檚 part. If they are not recovered within the next 48 hours, we will sever all communications between the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the rest of the country.鈥�
The five students were abducted at about 6:30am on April 16 from Giriful area of Khagrachhari Sadar upazila while returning to campus after celebrating the Biju festival in Rangamati鈥檚 Baghaichhari. Their driver has also been abducted along with them.
The abducted students are Rison Chakma from international relations department, also a member of the CU unit of the Parbatya Chattagram Pahari Chhatra Parishad, aligned with the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti; Moittri Moy Chakma and Aldrin Tripura, both from the CU Institute of Fine Arts, Dibbi Chakma from dramatics department, Long Ngi Mro from zoology department. All the five are first-year students under the 2023鈥�24 academic session. The identity of the driver remains unknown.
Nipon Tripura, president of the Pahari Chhatra Parishad affiliated with Santu Larma-led PCJSS, has accused the United People鈥檚 Democratic Front, another organisation of the national ethnic minorities of the CHT. The accusation has already been denied by Angya Marma, a district-level organiser of the UPDF.
Since the day of the incident, joint security forces have been conducting operations in the Chattogram Hill Tracts without any result yet.
