A teacher of Khagrachari Government Technical School and College was beaten to death on Tuesday for allegedly raping a Class VII student of Tripura community, triggering a fresh sectarian violence between the Bengalis and national minority communities in Khagrachari town.
The clash left more than a dozen of people injured prompting the district administration to impose Section 144 on the municipality area and Sadar upazila for an indefinite period in an attempt to calm the highly vulnerable and restive situation gripping the hill district, 抖阴精品 Khagrachari correspondent reported.
The deceased was identified as Abul Hasnat Mohammad Sohel Rana, who was earlier in jail on the charges of rape attempts.
Confirming the matter, Khagrachari Sadar Hospital resident doctor Riple Bappy Chakma said that Sohel Rana died due to head injuries.
The alleged rape victim was also admitted to the hospital, he said, adding that more than 12 people injured in the clashes were also undergoing treatment.
Earlier in September, the school鈥檚 students protested at the re-appointment of Sohel Rana, demanding the cancellation of his appointment and a declaration by the school authorities announcing him unwanted on the school premises.
Local people said that ethnic minority students gathered and rushed to Sohel Rana鈥檚 residence at the government quarter for teachers near the school, where he allegedly confined the Tripura girl on Tuesday morning.
鈥楽ome students saw Sohel Rana take a female student of Class VII of the Tripura community to his government quarter in the morning,鈥� an eyewitness, asking for anonymity, told 抖阴精品.
The students rescued the girl from his residence, the eyewitness, who was among the rescuers, said.
Sohel Rana, meanwhile, hid himself in the school鈥檚 office. The agitating students then stormed into the school office and caught him and reportedly thrashed him to death.
The eyewitness said that Sohel Rana was hit by an auto-rickshaw while fleeing.
鈥楾he girl told us that the teacher raped her. The people present there became angry and started beating him up in front of the police. Then an auto-rickshaw hit him while he was fleeing,鈥� he said.
Local people alleged that even after the Section 144 was imposed, Bengalis attacked and set fire to several houses and businesses of national minority people in some areas, including Pankhaiyapara and Mahajanpara.
Additional superintendent of police for Khagrachari Sadar Md Tafiqul Alam said that the situation was brought under control at about 8:30pm.
鈥楶eople from both sides were removed from the roads. Now the situation is under control,鈥� he said.
Earlier on September 19, a sectarian violence erupted in Dighinala upazila in the district, following the death of a Bengali Mohammad Mamun after rumour spread that he was beaten to death by national minority people in Khagrachari town on September 18.
The violence soon spread to Khagrachari town on the same day and in Rangamati the next day on September 20. The violence killed four national minority people in the two hill districts.
Mamun鈥檚 wife, however, filed a murder case on September 23 against three Bengali men鈥攁 Bangladesh Nationalist Party leader and two Awami League leaders.