RAB camp damaged, roads dug up
Miscreants allegedly used bulldozers to demolish parts of a Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) training camp and other structures in Jungle Salimpur under Sitakunda in Chattogram late at night, while roads were dug up at several points to obstruct law enforcement operations, according to RAB.
The incident took place around 2:00am on Sunday night (25 May) in the Alinagar area of Jungle Salimpur.
RAB claimed that members of an armed group known as the “Yasin Bahini” carried out the planned attack.
Lieutenant Colonel Hafizur Rahman, commanding officer of RAB-7 Chattogram, told journalists that the miscreants suddenly opened fire targeting the camp.
“The miscreants suddenly opened fire targeting the camp. In self-defence, RAB members also fired back,” he said.
He added that roads and culverts were dug up at different locations to prevent additional forces from reaching the scene.
“Despite various obstacles, members of the law enforcement agencies managed to reach the spot and bring the situation under control.
Although several miscreants managed to flee, a few were detained,” he said.
RAB said that during the incident, the camp wall and several structures were damaged using bulldozers, while roads were cut off at at least three points to obstruct movement of law enforcement vehicles.
Officials said the damaged roads delayed their response, forcing personnel to leave vehicles at a distance and proceed on foot to the Alinagar area.
Several people were later detained during a joint operation conducted by Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh Police and Armed Police Battalion in the area.
A RAB official, Kamal Hossain, later posted several videos of the operation on his Facebook account.
The videos, shared early on Monday, showed roads in Jungle Salimpur being dug up.
In the footage, he is heard saying that criminals had cut roads and culverts to block entry of law enforcement vehicles, adding that officers had to proceed on foot.
He also claimed, “They thought their tactics would defeat us. But they failed to realise that we are even more strategic than they are.”
The area, located along the Bayezid–Faujdarhat connecting road in Chattogram city, includes forested hills opposite the Asian University for Women and is broadly divided into Chinnomul and Alinagar.
District administration data indicate that the zone covers around 3,100 acres of khas land and has long been influenced by land grabbers and organised criminal groups.
Law enforcement agencies had previously taken control of Jungle Salimpur on 9 March in a major joint operation involving around 3,200 personnel from the Army, RAB, Police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). Earlier attempts to secure the area had reportedly faced resistance.
Following that operation, authorities announced plans to establish two training centres for the Police and RAB in the area.
As part of this initiative, RAB had begun constructing a camp in Alinagar, which officials now allege was targeted and partially demolished in the latest incident.
During the March operation, 22 people were arrested, while several suspects, including alleged gang leaders Mohammad Yasin, Rokon Uddin, Mashiur Rahman, Nurul Haque Bhandari, Gazi Sadek and Golam Gafur, remain at large.
According to local residents, the Chinnomul area was previously under the control of Rokon, while Alinagar was reportedly dominated by Yasin’s group.
