Panic grips people in Ruma after KNF attack

Monir Ahmed has been running a grocery shop in Ruma upazila Sadar for almost 10 years but he never went through such experience. He, along with other residents of the upazila are panicked as the small town underwent incidents such as an attempted bank robbery and abduction of a bank manager.

“I find some sort of courage as long as police and BGB members patrol the area. But panic grips us when there is no patrol,” Monir said.

“I used to keep my door ajar during summer but now bolt the door as soon as entering the house,” said Monir reflecting the fear caused by the recent incidents.

The residents of Ruma upazila hardly go outside their houses without any emergency and if they do, they return hurriedly before dusk. People cannot even do away with the fear inside their homes.

Police, however, assure the residents and maintain that the law enforcers are on high alert.

Chattogram range’s deputy inspector general (DIG) Nure Alam Mina told Prothom Alo additional members of police have been deployed in several thanas of Bandarban and security has been beefed up.

The people have nothing to fear, he added.

Miscreants attacked Sonali Bank’s Ruma branch at around 8:15pm on Tuesday. Although they failed to loot the vault of the bank, they snatched 14 arms and 415 bullets from police and Ansar members. The armed miscreants had abducted bank’s manager Nezam Uddin, whom RAB freed later on Thursday.

The miscreants later looted Tk 1.7 million from two branches of two banks in Thanchi thana. A total of six cases were filed over the incident. Bank transactions have remained closed in two upazilas since the incident.

Based on primary information, home minister Asaduzzaman Khan said militant group Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF) members were involved with the Ruma incident while the locals said the same group was involved with the Thanchi incident.

This correspondent talked with several people in Ruma upazila today. They were in panic over fear of fresh attack.

Md Alamgir has a tea stall just opposite Ruma upazila gate. He said the people are not coming out of their houses and the number of tourists also dropped.

Otherwise open till 11 in the night, Alamgir now shuts his tea stall in the evening.

“I will have to close my shop if this situation continues for some more days,” he said.

Pranab Barua, driver of a Chander Gari (human hauler) said, “People of the locality are not moving while none from outside are also coming. People are in panic.”

Ruma Bazar is the biggest market in the upazila. The area wore a deserted look this morning.

A vegetable vendor named Abdur Rashid said he cannot even sell items worth Tk 200 while he used to sell Tk 2000 a day.

A grocery shop owner Mohammad Raju said he cannot even sell goods worth Tk 1000 while he used to make Tk 20,000-25,000.

Before attacking the bank, the miscreants looted arms from Ansar members who were in charge of security of upazila nirbahi officer’s office.

Ansar commander Mohammad Belal Uddin told Prothom Alo today that the number of Ansar members has been increased.

A police constable, who was witness to the incident, told Prothom Alo, “I still fear remembering how some armed people attacked us.”