SECOND EDITION
SUNDAY, MAY 15, 2016
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Jyoishtha 2, 1423, Shaban 7, 1437
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Regd No DA 6238, Vol 4, No 23
Now a Buddhist monk hacked to death Home boss suspects relatives behind the killing
n S Bashu Das, Bandarban Unidentified assailants killed a Buddhist monk by slitting his throat at Baishari union in Bandarban’s Naikhyangchhari upazila early yesterday. Maung Shue U, son of late Aungthoai Chak, was found dead inside Chakpara temple, said police. This is the latest in a spate of attacks on minorities in different parts of the country. In February, a Hindu priest was hacked to death in Panchagarh. Maung, 70, was hacked in his neck. His daughter-in-law Manung Ching discovered his body lying in a pool of blood after she brought a meal for him at the wooden temple
around 5am. Police later arrived and recovered the body. Family members said Maung had no enemy. Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal termed the killing an isolated incident, and said the victim’s relatives might be involved in it. Locals said Maung had been passing his time meditating at the temple, which was built two years ago, as part of performing religious rituals. He was living at the temple despite having a family. Maung Baching Chak, a local man, said the monk was known as Batya Machhu in the area. “He was a simple man and was loved by all.”
Police said it was not clear who killed the monk but they were not ruling out Ansarullah Bangla Team members as suspects. “There are other suspects as well,” said Kazi Ahsan, second officer of Naikhongchhari police. Locals pointed finger at fundamentalists and said the murder might have been an attempt to destroy communal harmony in the area. They also said they do not suspect the Rohingya people. State Minister for Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing, Bandarban Superintendent of Police Mizanur Rahman, Sub-Inspector Anisur Rahman, in-charge of Baishari police investigation PAGE 2 COLUMN 3
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What’s going on in the southeast? n Adil Sakhawat Over the last three days, three major violent incidents have taken place in the country’s southeast region: shelling on a border guard camp from Myanmar, the murder of an Ansar commander and arms loot at a refugee camp and the murder of a Buddhist monk at a temple. Are these incidents linked to each other and indicate a broader security threat to Bangladesh? Probably not, says a security expert. “The three incidents are separate,” said Maj Gen Md Abdur Rashid (Retd), a strategic and security analyst. Six mortar shells were fired at Border Guard Bangladesh’s (BGB) Bulupara, Bandarban camp on the night of Wednesday, May 11 from the direction of Myanmar.
BGB Bandarban sector Commander Col Habibur Rahman said the attack was likely made by the law enforcement agencies of Myanmar or members of the separatist group Arakan Army. The Arakan Army has also blamed the Myanmar army for the attack. Maj Gen Rashid said separatist groups often resort to such tactics when they face obstacles from law enforcement or border guards. “On the other hand the monk’s killing is most likely linked with the attacks on minority members that have been happening in Bangladesh recently,” he said. Yesterday, 70-year-old Buddhist monk Mawng Shoi Wuu was slain inside his temple in Chakpara under Naikhongchhari, Bandarban, a short distance from Bulupara. PAGE 2 COLUMN 3