1 RAB member killed, 3 injured as team attacked during operation in Ctg's Sitakunda

Unidentified assailants attacked members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) during an operation in the Jungle Salimpur area of Sitakunda upazila in Chattogram this afternoon (19 January), leaving one RAB member dead and three others injured.

Senior officials of Chattogram RAB and Chattogram district Police confirmed the incident to The Business Standard.

Describing the incident, Additional Superintendent of Police Mohammad Russel, spokesperson of Chattogram district Police, told TBS that a team of RAB went to Jungle Salimpur for an operation in the afternoon when miscreants launched an attack on them.

"One RAB member was seriously injured in the attack, while several others were confined by the assailants. The injured member was rushed to Combined Military Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead," he said.

He added that later, senior officials of both police and RAB quickly arrived at the scene with additional forces and conducted a joint operation to rescue the detained personnel and restore order.

Jungle Salimpur, located in the Salimpur union of Sitakunda, has long been known as a stronghold of armed groups. Over the past four decades, thousands of illegal settlements have been established there by occupying government-owned hills and khas land. Due to its rugged hilly terrain, the area has become a safe haven for land grabbers, armed criminals and organised gangs.

The total area of Jungle Salimpur is around 3,100 acres. According to district administration sources, land along the adjacent link road is valued at Tk9-10 lakh per decimal, putting the estimated market value of the encroached government land at nearly Tk30,000 crore.

Officials say this huge economic stake has fuelled prolonged violence, killings and criminal activities in the area.

After last year's political changes on 5 August, armed clashes over control of Jungle Salimpur intensified further, leading to multiple killings linked to hill grabbing and territorial dominance. Most recently, one person was killed in a gunfight between rival groups. The following day, two journalists were attacked while collecting news from the area.

Law enforcement agencies have faced repeated attacks during eviction drives and operations to stop hill cutting in Jungle Salimpur. On 14 September 2023, at least 20 people, including an executive magistrate, a police station officer-in-charge and police personnel, were injured when officials were attacked while returning from an eviction drive. Similar attacks were reported in 2022 targeting RAB, police and the Department of Environment.

Officials said the area's geography makes law enforcement operations particularly difficult, as armed groups receive advance warnings through lookouts as soon as security vehicles enter the zone. Assailants then target forces from elevated positions using firearms, cocktails and bricks, making solo operations hard to sustain.

Despite plans to implement at least 11 major projects on the government land in Jungle Salimpur, including a prison and an IT park, none have progressed due to the failure to recover the occupied land.