CHT under grip of rampant extortion

The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) has been plagued by pervasive extortion rackets with over Tk550 crore extorted annually in the three districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban, terrorising the residents for years.

Several regional parties and armed groups, including Jana Samhati Samity (JSS), United People's Democratic Front (UPDF), UPDF (Democratic), JSS (Reformist) and Kuki-Chin National Front (KNF), are involved in the illegal activities.

The former four of the organisations are led by members of the Chakma community, said the sources.

The UPDF dominates all the upazilas of Khagrachhari except Panchari while JSS holds sway in Rangamati and Bandarban districts and Khagrachhari’s Panchari while the KNF is active only in Bandarban.

Besides, JSS (Reformist) and UPDF (Democratic) sporadically extort in the three districts, according to intelligence sources.

The hill people and businessmen are forced to pay extortion under the threat of violence and intimidation, said the sources and a number of inhabitants.

The local residents call the regional parties and outfits 'Vitor Parties' which take the extortion in the form of 'Kiang Ghor' subscription and other fees.

If anybody refuses to meet their illegal demands, he/she has the face severe consequences, including torture and abduction. The extortion is taken both manually and digitally, but a token is given to the victims.

The Daily Sun has obtained some tokens.

The dominance of extortion often leads to internal clashes among the parties.

Six members of JSS and UPDF were killed during internal clashes in Khagrachhari in the last three months, said intelligence sources.

Contacted, Deputy Inspector General of police (Chattogram Range) Ahsan Habib Palash told the Daily Sun that he has been aware of the extortion by the regional parties since before he joined this post.

"The extortion is exchanged between the parties and victims in a secret way. I'll work to check the extortion. But it won't be easy to do so in the hilly areas," he said.

This correspondent paid a visit to Khagrachhari last week to gather evidence of extortion on the ground. He had been able to obtain some valuable evidence.

In November last year, the UPDF (Democratic) took Tk50,000 in extortion from a transport company in Khagrachhari. Again the outfit forced the company to pay Tk1,00,000 this month, an employee of the company told the Daily Sun, seeking anonymity.

As the UPDF (Democratic) took extortion double the amount it took last year, JSS (Reformist) demanded Tk80,000 while UPDF sought Tk1.5 lakh, which is higher than they were paid last year, he said.

"Our company has only five covered vans and trucks. We have to pay Tk3 lakh in extortion to the ‘Vitor Parties’ every year. Otherwise, the vehicles are not allowed to ply," said the employee.

The owner of a small shop at the Larma Square in Dighinala of the district told the Daily Sun that he has to pay Tk2,500-Tk3,000 to the 'Vitor Parties' every year while a medium or big shop has to pay Tk10,000-Tk20,000.

An auto-rickshaw driver, who sought not to be named, from Dighinala, told the Daily Sun that he took a token of UPDF after paying Tk600 last year. "This year, I'll have to renew it. Otherwise, I won't be able to ply the auto-rickshaw," he said.

A day labourer from the area said he has to pay 3% of his income in extortion. "If I draw Tk600 a day, I have to pay Tk18 to a ‘Vitor Party’."

A female tailor at Swanirbhar Bazar, a stronghold of UPDF, said she has to pay about Tk4,000-Tk5,000 to a 'Vitor Party', which enjoys power in the locality, every year.

Asked about the extortion, UPDF Spokesperson Aongay Marma told the Daily Sun that they take a small portion of money from different people to run their party. "We request subscriptions and they pay us, but we don't force anybody to pay the subscription," he said.

The leaders of other regional parties and KNF could not be contacted for comments.