A case has been registered in connection with the attack on the joint army camp in Salimpur forest of Sitakunda, Chittagong. 200 to 300 unknown people have been accused in the case, including 43 names.
Inspector (Investigation) Alamgir Hossain of Sitakunda police station confirmed the matter on Tuesday (May 26). Earlier, Inspector Sohel Rana of Faujdarhat police outpost filed the case at Sitakunda police station as the plaintiff on Monday night.
Alamgir Hossain said, “The case has been filed under various sections of the Explosives Act, damage to government property, obstruction of police duty.”
Earlier, terrorists launched a three-pronged attack targeting joint forces camp in jungle Salimpur on Sunday night. Before the attack, roads were blocked at several places on the main road, so that law enforcement officials could not reach the spot quickly.
RAB-7 captain Lt. Col. Hafizur Rahman said, “Terrorists took advantage of the inaccessible and broken communication system of jungle Salimpur. When we reached the spot, we saw that the road was cut off at various places. As a result, the vehicles could not move. The members had to walk. It took time and the terrorists escaped.”
He said, “20 to 25 suspects have been detained for questioning in connection with the attack. Action will be taken against those involved after verification.”
Police Superintendent of Chittagong. Masood Alam said, “The attack started after 1 am. The terrorists cut various parts of the entrance and attacked the new temporary camp under construction. Their aim was to prevent the law enforcement forces from taking up permanent positions there.”
“There were two camps of joint forces in Salimpur jungle. One at the entrance and the other in Alinagar area. The new camp was the main target of the attackers,” he said.
The Superintendent of Police said, “The attackers wanted the force members to not be able to leave the camp. Firearms were used for this. In response, the joint force members used shotguns, Chinese rifles and gas guns.”
He said, “104 rounds were fired by the police in the entire incident. Due to stiff resistance, the attackers could not enter the camp and no law enforcement personnel were injured. However, some structures of the camp were vandalized with excavators.”
According to the police, the attackers moved to the hilly area late at night. At present, members of the joint forces are stationed in the entire area.
From the Bayezid-Foujdarhat link road, one has to enter the jungle Salimpur area through the hilly road. The administration said that this area, which is built with about 3 thousand 100 acres of private land, was under the control of various land robbers and terrorist groups for a long time.
On March 9, then Chittagong Range DIG and current RAB Director General Md. Under the leadership of Ahsan Habib Palash, a large-scale joint operation was carried out in the Salimpur jungle. More than 3,000 members of law and order forces participated in that operation along with three helicopters. After the operation, temporary police and RAB camps were set up in the area.
