‘Accomplice of Myanmarese separatist’ held in Rangamati

Army claims to have nabbed an accomplice of Myanmar separatist outfit ‘Arakan Army’ from hills tract district of Rangamati.

Army’s Rangamati-based brigade said that one Ong Owong Rakhain, 20, was detained from Rajsthali Upazila’s Taitong Parha during a raid between Wednesday night and the wee hours of Thursday.

The arrest takes place a day after the Myanmarese rebels engaged in a gun-battle with a Border Guard Bangladesh patrol team near international border in Bandarban.

The raid was conducted jointly by the army and police in the area along the border in Bandarban and Rangamati districts, Major Taslim of 305th Infantry Brigade said in an email.

Uniforms of Arakan Army, laptops, digital cameras, motorcycles and two horses were found in his possession.

Major Taslim in the email said Rakhain was nabbed from the house of Dr Ran Nin Soe Marma in Taitong Parha after a raid there following an intelligence input.

A picture of the detained man, sent with the email, shows both his hands amputated and splinter injuries on the body.

Local police said the house of Dr Marma, who lives in the Netherlands, was raided based on a tip-off.

“The owner of the house fled,” Rajsthali police OC Wahidul Islam told bdnews24.com.

During initial interrogations, the detainee admitted he was an accomplice of separatist outfit Arakan Army and that he was a resident of Arakan State in Myanmar, added the police officer.

A joint forces’ raid kicked-off in the hill tracts area of Bangladesh after an exchange of fire between Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) troopers and the separatists on Wednesday.