In Bandarban, Christian Missionary people converted Buddhists into Christianity, arrested 5, later freed

Mamtaz uddin Ahmed, Alikadam(Bandarban):

Police arrested 5 officials and staffs of Christian Missionary organization named Seventh Day Adventist on allegation to convert local Murang people to Christian at Murangpara of Alikadam upazilla under Bandarban district. They provoked them to convert to Christian. A same allegation was brought against this organization 11 years ago.

Local people and police sources said, the missionary people under their planning to convert them, they secretly do their activities.  Murangs are their target and  on March 13,Chittagong regional secretary Denish Das and Project Director Dity Roy taking other missionary people went to the village secretly and converted 33 men and women of that area.

On hearing this news the police personnel and Buddhist religious leaders went there and found nobody was present there. The missionary people fled the region before police entered the area. 5 staffs including 3 women from missionary were there at that time. Police interrogated them and found that Seventh Day Adventist’s worker Tatman Tripura and his wife Hachchi Tripura were present there who acknowledged that Denishte Das advised them to Christianize the mass of that region.

Tatman said that is why they came there and began to Christianize the local people. Tatman identified him as a school teacher to a missionary school that situated at Gatirampur village under Union of Gazalia. There are so many missionary schools in hill areas of Lama and Alikadam upazills. While asked the converted people why you converted to Christian, they simply answered that they are belong to tribal community who are treated as have-nots. Cheoni Murangparas Karbari Chaknai Murang and Sakding Murang told ther episode of conversion alleging that the men in local administration are not taking their take-care though the area lies only in two kilometer from Upazilla sadar. We are suffering from drinking water sanitation but the men in local administration do not ready to mitigate the problems.

The missionary people assured them to solve the problem if they converted to Christianity. That is why we converted and on this occasion the missionary people disbursed one maund meat of chickens among the local people, added Karbary. Sakain Murang Karbari told 33 people including his 5 family members of him now Christians from Buddhists. Here is mentionable that on September 23 and 24, 2003 Seventh Day Adventist converted 110 Buddhist people to Christian at village named Talukchandrapara and 43 from Chaikhong  union converted to Christian under the same Upazilla. At that time they became furious to them and they winded up their office and went back to Chittagong. News men began to write against the malpractice and compelled to flee from this area.

Denishti Das, however, denied this allegation brought against them saying they are engaged to do wellbeing to the common people. They are not ready to convert anybody forcely. Those who embrace Christianity willingly are rehabilitee there. While asked OC Aslam Hossain said we interrogated both parties -those who engaged to conduct conversion and those who converted said it did not happened focely. After realizing bond, police later, freed them.