Sarnath Arannyo Kuthir update:

Cases filed against 500 Jummas including monk and dead

As part of a broader conspiracy to grab the lands of Sarnath Arannyo Kuthir, a Buddhist religious meditation centre cum temple run by a disciple of Rev. Bana Bhante, a fictitious case has been filed against 500 Jumma men and women including the chief priest of the Kuthir and a dead man.

The case was filed by Abdul Majid (50) s/o late Akad Zaman, an illegal settler from Karallyachari cluster village, under sections 143, 447, 379, 427, 506 and 109 of the Bangladesh Penal Code.

The case (No. 1, dated 11/1/2008) was filed with Mahalchari police station on 11 January 2008.

Broadly speaking, the allegations brought against them range from illegal gathering to theft to destruction to private property.

In the First Information Report, Mr. Abdul Majid, the complainant, stated that 400 - 500 Jummas were involved in the commission of the offences. However, he mentioned only 12 names as accused. They are Bishwajit Chakma, chairman of Kiang-ghat Union Council, Dharmaraj Chakma, member of Kiang-ghat Union Council, Samiran Chakma of Jadugonala village, Sunil Jibon Chakma, ex-member of Kiang-ghat Union Council, Manik Lal Chakma of Karallyachari Mukh village, Kartik Chandra Chakma of Karallyachari Bhitor Para village, Bidya Binod Chakma, headman of Kiang-ghat Mouza, Dev Bharat Chakma, member of Kiang-ghat Union Council, Bijoy Chakma, Karallyachari Mukh Para village, Nikhil Chakma, head of Karallyachari Bhitor Para village, Tumbo Chakma of Karallyachari Mukh and Aryo Joti Bhikkhu, chief priest of Sarnath Arannyo Kuthir.

How ill-motivated and frivolous the case is can be understood by the fact that of the accused, Mr. Tumbo Chakma is dead and Rev. Aryo Joti Bhikkhu is a Buddhist monk.

Released
In the meantime, Rev. Aryo Joti Bhikkhu, who was arrested from his cottage on the morning of 14 January, and 11 others named in the FIR were granted bail when they were produced before the Khagrachari district court.

After his release, Rev. Aryo Joti Bhikkhu has returned to the Kuthir.

Conspiracy to grab Kuthir's land
Situated about 15 kilometers south of Khagrachari district headquarters, Sarnath Arannyo Kuthir (cottage) area comprises 18 acres of land donated by five Jumma villagers. Of the 18 acres, Kartik Chandra Chakma of Karallyachari Bhitor Para, late Tumbo Chakma and Nagendra Chakma of Karallyachari Mukh Para and Gunodhar Chakma of Kiang-ghat village donated 4 acres each, while Nanda Kumar Chakma of Karallyachari Bhitor Para donated 2 acres.

The Kuthir was established in 2004 by a disciple of Rev. Bana Bhante, the most revered and venerated Buddhist monk in CHT. At present seven fully ordained monks and four Sramanas (novices) live in the cottage. The monks are Rev. Aryo Joti Bhikkhu, the founder and chief priest, Rev. Artho Dorshi Bhikkhu, Rev. Buddha Dutta Bhikkhu, Rev. Shanta Deep Bhikkhu, Rev. Bibekananda Bhikkhu, Rev. Bishudhachar Bhikkhu and Rev. Kallyan Kirti Bhikkhu.

In November last year, the Jumma devotees began to uplift the Kuthir with hundreds of men and women taking part in it on voluntary basis. The uplift work consisted in the main of leveling the ground and construction of living rooms and dining halls for the monks and the Sramanas.

While all this was going on in full swing, the army and the settlers appeared on the scene from nowhere and raised objections to the construction activities. The settlers laid claim to the Kuthir's land and the army ordered the stoppage of all kinds of uplift work in the Kuthir area. Army personnel have been deployed there since 3 January. But all these could not deter hundreds of Jumma men and women, fired by religious passion and devotion, from carrying on the voluntary work.

As the Jumma devotees refused to obey the unlawful order of the army, the civil administration ultimately intervened and asked them to put a hold on the uplift activities.

Source-Hill Watch Human Rights Forum