CHT NEWS
Attempted Settlement with a Fine of Taka 50,000 in
Social Arbitration Alleged!
Bandarban, CHT News
Thursday, August 21, 2025
Police have arrested three individuals in connection
with the gang rape of a fifth-grade female primary school student by five Marma
youths in Ruma Upazila, Bandarban district. The remaining two are reportedly
still at large. The victim is also from the same Marma community.
The three arrested individuals are Kysaiwong Marma
(19), Kyahlawong Marma (22), and Uhai Sing Marma (23). They are residents of
Headman Para in Ward No. 2 of Paindu Union.
The incident occurred on August 8, 2025, in Paindu
Headman Para of Ruma Upazila. However, it was not initially publicized. It came
to light only after attempts were made to settle the matter through social
arbitration with a fine of Taka 50,000, which sparked reactions on social
media.
Locals allege that social leaders attempted to release
the perpetrators with a fine through arbitration.
Ruma Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md.
Sawhrawardy stated, “Although the incident happened 11 days ago,
widespread criticism erupted in the Upazila after the gang rape came to light
on social media on Wednesday (August 20). Following this, a team from Ruma
Police Station conducted an operation at the scene. Three out of the five
involved have been arrested.”
Returning from the scene on Wednesday morning, Ruma
Press Club President Shoihlaching Marma told reporters, citing villagers,
“On the night of August 8, Shoihainu Marma, a resident of Paindu Headman
Para, first raped a fifth-grade student. When his friends found out, the next
day, four other friends—Uhai Sing Marma, Kyahlawong Marma, Kysaiwong Marma, and
Chohai Marma—intimidated the girl and took her to a teak garden behind the
community clinic in the village.”
“There, she was gang-raped from 9:30 PM to 2:00
AM. The matter had been suppressed until now. Later, when the victim informed
her family, it became public in the area.”
Shoihlaching said, “In this situation, an
arbitration session was organized on August 19 at the Headman’s house in Paindu
Mouza. Union Parishad member Gongbache Marma and village headman Thowaisha Khoi
Marma were also present. The five involved were fined Taka 50,000 through
arbitration. The fine was reportedly to be given to the victim for medical
expenses.”
However, journalist Shoihlaching Marma said that UP
member Gongbache Marma claimed he was forced to participate in the social
arbitration due to the demands of the victim’s guardians and villagers.
The victim’s guardian stated that there was no
government school in their village. The government primary school in Headman
Para is two kilometers away from the village. Therefore, she was being educated
while staying in a residential-type hostel near the primary school. A major
accident had occurred in her daughter’s life. The perpetrators must face
punishment.
Regarding why criminals involved in serious offenses
like rape are released with a fine under the guise of social arbitration, the
General Secretary of Bandarban Headman-Karbaris Welfare Council, Unihla Marma,
said, “Criminal offenses like rape can in no way be handled through social
arbitration. They might have thought that everyone is from the same village and
somehow related. They considered a serious crime like this to be a minor issue.
But by attempting to arbitrate a crime like rape socially, they have also
committed an offense. A fair investigation should be conducted, and they should
also be punished. Otherwise, such incidents will happen repeatedly.”
OC Sawhrawardy stated that the remaining two
individuals are still at large and will also be arrested.
Source: bdnews24.com
———-