The incident of shooting of a Rohingya man, who is undergoing treatment at Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital, has been shrouded in mystery.
The injured Rohingya, Ali Johar, 30, claimed that he was injured by accidental firing from the Myanmar side of the Naf river on his way back from Saint Martin in a trawler on Thursday afternoon.
However, law enforcement officials and administration officials said that movement of all types of boats remained stopped on Teknaf-Saint Martin’s route on the day of the incident. No such trawler came to Teknaf from St. Martin’s via Naf River through the route. The Rohingya man may have lied for getting medical treatment after being shot inside Myanmar.
The Rohingya youth is undergoing treatment in the surgery ward of Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital. According to the information given by him, his father’s name is Hamid Hossain. He is a resident of Kutupalong No. 3 Rohingya Camp of Ukhia Upazila. On August 25, 2017, he escaped from Myanmar and took refuge in Ukhia, Cox's Bazar with his family.
Ali Johar on Friday night said the people stranded on the island were brought to Teknaf from St. Martin’s on Thursday in four trawlers. But all those stuck on the island could not board the trawlers due to lack of space, he claimed.
“Later, on that afternoon, 30 people set off by hiring a wooden trawler. Although they were supposed to reach the shore from the west side of Shahporir Island, the trawler's crew did not accept it and took them to the east side of Shahporir Island. "
The Rohingya man said, "At one point, when the trawler carrying them reached the east side of Shahporir Island in the Naf River, two trawlers suddenly came out of the Myanmar part of the waters and came close to the border and fired at them. The bullet hit his right leg."
Ali Johar claimed that after being shot from a distance of 5-km in the Naf river, he became unconscious. “Then I can't say anything else. I regained consciousness and saw that I was under treatment at MSF Hospital in Ukhia. Later on Friday afternoon, he was admitted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital for better treatment.”
He claimed that he originally went to Saint Martin’s island for work from the camp a month ago.
However, Ali Johar was never seen on St. Martin Island, according to a local public representative.
Khorshed Alam, chairman of the panel of St. Martin Union Parishad and president of the Speedboat Owners Cooperative Association, said that no trawler went to Teknaf on Thursday except four trawlers. There was shelling in the Naf river so there was no question of any trawler going to Teknaf through Naf river. Ali Johar may be lying.
Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Teknaf Police Station Muhammad Osman Gani said that on Thursday, about 300 people reached Teknaf via the Bay of Bengal in four trawlers owned by Boat Owners Association President Rashid Ahmed. Apart from this, no other trawler came to Teknaf through Naf river or the Bay of Bengal.
He said, "Inquiries have been made from all media. The Rohingya youth might have been shot inside Myanmar and entered Bangladesh. Now, he is lying for treatment.”
Additional District Magistrate of Cox's Bazar Md Yamin Hossain said no trawler came to Teknaf except four trawlers from St. Martin via the Bay of Bengal on the day. There is no such information that the Rohingya man was shot on his way to Teknaf from Saint Martin’s island.
