STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Ctg

Three people were shot dead and four others injured yesterday afternoon in Khagrachhari’s Guimara upazila during protests by indigenous people over the rape of a schoolgirl.

Ahsan Habib Palash, deputy inspector general of police for the Chattogram range, confirmed the incident to The Daily Star around 6:25pm.

“The bodies are now at Khagrachhari Sadar Hospital morgue, and post-mortems are scheduled for tomorrow,” he added.

The DIG, however, could not say whose bullets caused the deaths. The identities of the deceased were also not known at the time of filing this report at 11:30pm.

Khagrachhari Civil Surgeon Mohammed Saber said three people were brought dead to the Sadar hospital along with four injured.

In the aftermath of the shooting, many shops -- mostly owned by indigenous people -- were looted and set on fire at Ramesu Bazar in Guimara. Nearby houses were also vandalised.

Videos and photos of the fire went viral on social media.

According to eyewitnesses, the Jumma Chhatra Janata, a platform of indigenous community, which has been protesting the rape of a class-VIII student on Tuesday, was enforcing a blockade on the Guimara road yesterday morning.

Around 11:30am, members of the security forces arrived and asked the protesters why the blockade was continuing despite the arrest of a suspect in the rape case. Soon an altercation ensued, and moments later, heavy gunfire rang out.

Mongsazai Marma and Kongjari Marma, who were present at the scene, said they were peacefully demonstrating in front of a food warehouse when law enforcers intervened. At one point, the forces opened fire on the protesters.

Then around 1:00pm, some 25 people, many wearing masks, went into a rampage at Ramesu Bazar. They looted and torched shops and houses. They also set fire to motorcycles parked in the area, they added.

Sanaw Marma, a former Chittagong University student, said the torched houses and shops belonged to the Marma community. Some shopkeepers were attacked with machetes.

Late at night, Inter-Services Public Relations, the media and public relations wing of the Armed Forces, issued a statement, accusing United People’s Democratic Front (UPDF) and its affiliates of inciting violence in Khagrachhari.

It said UPDF activists blocked roads at Ramesu Bazar yesterday morning, defying section 144, and engaged in chase and counter-chase with Bangalees.

When troops tried to intervene, the armed groups attacked them with brickbats, sticks, slingshots, and The

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