Kalpana Chakma: ‘A miscarriage of justice’
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission has expressed profound shock and disappointment over the recent ruling issued by a Rangamati court regarding the disappearance of Kalpana Chakma, an indigenous rights activist.
The court of Rangamati Senior Judicial Magistrate Fatema Begum Mukta on April 23 decided to accept the police's final report, thereby absolving all suspects behind Kalpana Chakma's disappearance.
The court also rejected a "no-confidence" petition filed by the victim's family challenging the police report.
According to the police report, submitted in September 2016, none of Kalpana's abductors could be identified.
The court's ruling left the CHT Commission shocked and disappointed, the commission said in a press statement yesterday, undersigned by its co-chairs Sultana Kamal, Elsa Stamatopoulou, and Myrna Cunningham Kain.
Kalpana Chakma, 23, an organising secretary of the Hill Women's Federation, was abducted from her home in remote Niulalaghona village in Rangamati's Baghaichhari upazila on June 12, 1996, a year before the signing of the CHT Peace Accord.
Her brother Kalindi Kumar Chakma, who managed to escape from the abductors, filed a case with Baghaichhari Police Station against some security personnel working in Rangamati.
The incident drew huge criticism at home and abroad and a judicial committee was formed in September that year.
After almost 14 years of investigation, police filed the final report on May 21, 2010 for the first time, failing to say anything conclusive about the suspects and their whereabouts.
After Kalpana's family rejected the report, the court sent it to the Criminal Investigation Department for further probe. CID submitted a similar final report on September 26, 2012.
Kalpana's family rejected the report yet again and the case was handed over to the then-superintendent of police in Rangamati for reinvestigation.
With the SP's transfer from the district, the case's investigation officer was also changed. It finally came to the hands of SP Sayed Tariqul Hassan as the 39th investigation officer of the case. He filed the latest final report on September 7, 2016.
In November of that year, Kalindi filed the "no-confidence" petition with the court, rejecting the report.
Over the past few years, several hearings were held on the petition. Finally, the court came up with the order on April 23 this year.
This ruling not only emphasises the entrenched culture of impunity within the CHT region but also exposes the systemic protection granted to alleged perpetrators, the statement said.
The CHT Commission in the statement condemned the court's ruling, terming it a "miscarriage of justice and a severe blow to the already fragile trust in the justice system within the CHT region".
"The unresolved case of Kalpana Chakma represents more than just a failure of the legal system; it is a stark reminder of the broader challenges faced by the indigenous peoples of CHT, in seeking accountability and redress for human rights violations," it also read.
The commission urged the government to fulfill its duty to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the abduction of Kalpana, ensuring that all involved are held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.
It also called upon the government to take concrete steps to address the systemic impunity persisting in the CHT region.
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