The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission in a statement on Sunday expressed disappointment at clearing of all suspects in a case filed over the disappearance of Chittagong Hill Tracts-based rights activist Kalpana Chakma in 1996.
Under the supervision of Rangamati Senior Judicial Magistrate Fatema Begum Mukta, the court鈥檚 decision to accept the police final report on April 23 left the commission profoundly shocked and disappointed, it said.聽
The commission condemned the order as a 鈥榤iscarriage of justice鈥� and聽 viewed it as a severe blow to the already fragile trust in the justice system in the CHT region.
Having mentioned that the court鈥檚 decision to uphold the final report submitted by the police in 2016 and exonerate all the accused has deeply dismayed the commission, it said that it is appalled that the court accepted an investigation report lacking integrity instead of ordering further investigation.
This ruling not only emphasises the entrenched culture of impunity in the CHT, but also exposes the systemic protection granted to alleged perpetrators, especially when they are military personnel, the statement said.
In accordance with articles 3 and 9(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as article 1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, Bangladesh bears a solemn obligation to pursue justice for Kalpana, it read.
The unresolved case of Kalpana not only highlights a failure of the legal system, but also serves as a stark reminder of the broader challenges the ethnic peoples of the CHT face regarding accountability and justice for human rights abuses, it added.聽聽
The commission urged the government to fulfil its duty to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction, ensuring that all responsible parties are held accountable once and for all and to the fullest extent of the law.
The signatories of the statement included co-chair of the CHT Commission Sultana Kamal, Elsa Stamatopoulou and Myrna Cunningham Kain.聽
Kalpana, an organising secretary of the Hill Women鈥檚 Federation, was 23 years old when, on June 12, 1996, she was forcibly taken from her village home at gunpoint along with her two brothers at New Lallyaghona, Baghaichari, Rangamati allegedly by security forces from a nearby army camp.
Though her brothers managed to escape, Kalpana was taken by the abductors.
Kalpana鈥檚 brothers identified at least three of the abductors: Lieutenant Ferdous of Kojoichari army camp and two Village Defence Party personnel, Nurul Haq and Saleh Ahmed.
Subsequently, Kalpana鈥檚 brother Kalindi Kumar Chakma filed a case against the perpetrators, but justice continued to elude the family.聽
Over the years, the case underwent investigations by 38 officers who failed to submit any report.
Later in 2016, then superintendent of police of Rangamati Sayed Tariqul Hassan, as the 39th investigation officer, submitted the final report.聽
The victim鈥檚 family filed a no-confidence petition challenging the final report.