'23 of ethnic minority communities killed in 2016'
At least 23 persons including six women and girls of ethnic minority communities were killed in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and in the plains last year, according to Human Rights Report 2016 on Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh.
The most ghastly and atrocious incident was the killing of three Santals allegedly by police in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha following a dispute regarding land, mentioned the report which has been disclosed at The Daily Star Centre in Dhaka this morning.
“2016 was one of the critical years for the indigenous people of Bangladesh especially for the Santals of Gobindaganj in Gaibandha district,” the report prepared by Kapaeeng Foundation observes.
Claiming the ownership of the land of Sahebganj-Bagda sugarcane farm of Rangpur Sugar Mills, the Santals started erecting houses on the disputed land in June last year. They had cultivated paddy on 100 acres of land.
On November 6, a tripartite clash broke out between the Santals, factory staff and police over the eviction.
The forcible eviction drive led to the killing of three Santals allegedly by the police whilst many others were left injured.
At least 17 women were allegedly raped and six were killed after rape in 2016. Nine of the women were allegedly gang raped.
Besides, at least 53 cases of violence against ethnic women were reported last year. Of them, 28 women were from the CHT and 25 from the plain land.
However, the human rights violation against the ethnic women and girls in the last year dropped slightly in comparison to 2015, the report says.
In 2015, the total number of cases on human rights violation against indigenous women was 69 while the number stood at 85, it mentioned.
Pallab Chakma, editor of the report and executive director of Kapaeeng Foundation, explained that they gathered the data from the related reports published in different local and national newspapers and local network organisations, which in turn were verified by Kapaeeng's staff.
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