The government has withdrawn Section 144 in Khagrachhari.
The section was imposed in the Sadar and municipality area of the hill district yesterday (1 October) in the wake of the violence following the lynching of a school teacher over allegations of sexually assaulting a student.
“Section 144 has been lifted from 3:00pm today as the situation has returned to normalcy,” Sadar Upazila Nirbai Officer Sujan Chanda Roy told The Business Standard.
Currently, the situation in Khagrachhari remains controlled with law enforcement agencies patrolling the area, our correspondent reports. However, tension is still gripping the area.
Shops have opened and long-route buses have begun operation, he adds.
Meanwhile, Khagrachhari district administration has formed a four-member investigation committee to investigate the recent violence.
The committee will be headed by Rozlin Shahid Chowdhury, the additional district magistrate of Khagrachhari.
Authorities enforced an indefinite Section 144 yesterday restricting public gatherings in the district headquarters and surrounding municipal areas to prevent further clashes.
Two separate cases have also been filed in incidents involving the rape of a 7th-grade student at Khagrachhari Technical School and College and obstructing government work, and assaulting officials.
However, no case has yet been filed regarding the killing of the school teacher Abul Hasnat Muhammad Sohel Rana.
What began as a protest quickly spiralled into violence in Khagrachhari yesterday, with reports emerging that at least 20 businesses in the town’s Pankhaiyapara and Mahajanpara neighbourhoods were vandalised and looted.
Most of the affected shops, which include clothing stores, beauty parlours, and food outlets, are reportedly owned by members of the ethnic minority community. Even a private hospital did not escape the destruction.
