4 Rangamati UP chairmen arrested in murder case

Four newly elected union parishad chairmen were arrested in a murder case today just after taking the oath of office at the Rangamati deputy commissioner's office.

"All the arrestees were accused in the case filed over the murder of Naniarchar upazila parishad chairman Shaktimaan Chakma, who was shot dead in 2018," said Mir Muddasser Hossain, Rangamati superintendent of police.

The arrestees are Kanan Chakma, chairman of Kutukchhari union parishad of Rangamati Sadar upazila; Amal Kanti Chakma, chairman of Ghilachhari union parishad of Naniarchar upazila; Promod Khisa, chairman of Burighat union parishad; and Supam Chakma, chairman of Sabekhyang union parishad.

They were elected in the recent fourth phase of UP election, said the SP.

"There were arrest warrants against them and they were supporters of the United Peoples' Democratic Front (UPDF)," the SP added.

Aongay Marma, UPDF spokesperson, said, "We strongly condemn the arrest of the four elected chairmen.

"The areas from where the four were elected are UPDF-supported areas. If they were criminals, why did police not arrest them when they participated in the election," said Aongay.

Shaktimaan Chakma, the vice-president of Parbattya Chattogram Jana Samhati Samity's MN Larma faction, was killed in a gun attack in front of the upazila parishad office in Naniarchar in May 2018.