2 killed in hills

Two indigenous men were killed yesterday morning in a gunfight between two groups at remote Bhuiyachhara village, some 30 km off Baghaichhari upazila of the district, confirmed police.
Baghaichhari police, however, said they could not recover the dead bodies as those were taken away by criminals.
Quoting locals, Sub-Inspector Wahiduzzaman of Baghaichhari Police Station said the dead were Nitesh Dewan alias Niloy, 38, of Katthali village, and Sakkha Chakma alias Romel, 33, of Dangamachhara village of the district.
Meanwhile, members of pro-peace treaty Parbattya Chattagram Jana Sangahti Samity (PCJSS) and anti-peace treaty United People's Democratic Front (UPDF) gave conflicting statements about the identity of the deceased.
Sajib Chakma, assistant information and publicity secretary of PCJSS central committee, said the gunfight resulted from an internal feud of UPDF. "Our members are not involved in terrorism as PCJSS does not believe in terrorism and politics of killing."
Alokesh Chakma, district unit leader of UPDF, Rangamati, said a group of men broke away from Santu Larma- led PCJSS in protest at his misdeeds. "It's [the gunfight] nothing but a conflict between two factions of PCJSS," he added.