Police arrest two armed supporters of MN Larma faction in Chattogram

Police have arrested two armed activists of the MN Larma faction of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (JSS) in Chattogram.

They were arrested from a house in C&B Tekbazar in the Chandgaon area of the city following a raid on Sunday, said Mizanur Rahman, additional deputy-commissioner (north) of police.

The detainees have been identified as- Chiroroti Chakma, 23, and Mintu Chakma, 27.

They conducted the raid at the house in C&B Tekbazar receiving a tip, Mizanur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

“A rifle, a pistol and five rounds of bullets were recovered from the scene.”

“The arrestees are being interrogated. They have confessed to working for the organisation during their stay in Chattogram,” said the police official.

Earlier, police had arrested Palash Kusum Chakma and Indraraj Chakma with two firearms and cartridges from the driver colony in Bayezid Bostami Thana on Feb 11. Those detainees also claimed to be the JSS-MN Larma activists.

The Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti was formed in 1972 by Manbendra Narayan Chakma with the goal of protecting the rights of the people in the hill tracts. Violence broke out in the hill tracts when their armed division, the ‘Shanti Bahini’, emerged the following year.

After decades of bloodshed, the JSS led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma aka Shantu Larma signed a peace accord with the Awami League government on Dec 2, 1997 officially ending the armed conflict.

The next year, Prashit Bikash Kheesa established a new faction of JSS called the United Peoples Democratic Front (UPDF) in protest of the hill tracts peace accord.

Within a decade of the peace accord, the JSS was split again and the reformists led by Sudhadindu Kheesa formed another faction called the Parbatya Chattogram Janasamhati Samiti (MN Larma).

Since then, there have been several clashes and killings involving the two factions.