Six, including five CU students, allegedly abducted in Khagrachhari

Six people, including five students from the University of Chittagong (CU), were allegedly abducted from the Giriful area in Khagrachhari's Sadar upazila early this morning (16 April).

Among the abducted is Rishan Chakma, a student of the International Relations department at CU and a member of the university's Pahari Chhatra Parishad (PCP) unit.

The PCP, student wing of the Parbatya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS), has accused the United People's Democratic Front's (UPDF) Prasit Khisa group of carrying out the abduction.

The other abducted students are Maitrimoy Chakma and Aldrin Tripura from the Department of Fine Arts, Dibby Chakma from the Department of Theatre, and Longi Mro from the Department of Zoology. All five students are enrolled in CU's 2023-24 academic session.

In a statement to the media, the PCP CU unit said, "Around 6:30am today, five CU students were abducted from the Giriful area of Khagrachhari Sadar by armed assailants from the UPDF Prasit Khisa Group, an anti-CHT Accord organisation."

The statement added, "The students had gone to Baghaichhari in Rangamati to celebrate the Biju festival. After the festival, on 15 April, they left Baghaichhari for Khagrachhari Sadar, planning to return to the university campus. Since they couldn't get tickets for a Chattogram-bound bus, they spent the night at one of their relative's house in Kukichhara, near Khagrachhari.

"In the morning, while travelling by a battery-powered auto-rickshaw from Kukichhara to Khagrachhari Sadar, a group of armed assailants stopped their vehicle at Giriful and abducted the five students, along with the auto-rickshaw driver."

In the statement, the PCP unit strongly condemned the abduction of the five students by armed assailants from UPDF (Prasit) and expressed deep concern, demanding the immediate and unconditional release of the five abducted students and the auto-rickshaw driver in good health. 

The organisation also called on the CU administration, the Khagrachhari district administration, and all relevant authorities to take swift action.

When contacted, Nipon Tripura, the central president of the PCP, said, "Rishan is a member of our student organisation's CU unit. They planned to return to CU from Baghaichhari via Khagrachhari after celebrating the Biju festival on Tuesday. However, they couldn't get bus tickets, so they stayed overnight at Maitrimoy Chakma's relative's house in Kukichhara. 

"They were supposed to return to Chattogram on the 7am bus, but they were forcibly taken from the Giriful area. The auto-rickshaw driver who was carrying the students was also abducted. We hold the UPDF (Prasit) responsible for this incident. They are behind this abduction."

Angya Marma, district organiser and spokesperson for the UPDF (Prasit), denied any involvement in the incident. 

He said, "Our clear stance is that we have no connection with this abduction. We do not engage in such vengeful politics. We have always advocated for an end to fratricidal conflict. Certain groups are conspiring to frame us by orchestrating this abduction."

Khagrachhari Superintendent of Police Md Arefin Jewel said, "We've only recently been informed about the abduction of six people, including five CU students. It's possible that a regional group from the hills is involved. We are using mobile tracking technology to identify their location and are working to rescue them."