Buthidaung, Arakan State: Burma Border Guard police (BGP) extorted Kyat 600,000 per each from three fire victims on April 4, in Buthidaung Township, said one of the fire victims on condition of anonymity.
“The fire victims are identified as—Mohamed Salam (40), sultan Ahmed, Shamim (25), son of Auzu Rahman and Moulvi Nur Hussain (63), son of Habiuz Zaman. They all belong to Kyinut Thee village of Taung Bazar under Buthidaung Township.”
Their houses were burn down on March 12, at about 12:00 mid night. The victims were not able to save anything from the house, they lost everything. The fire is very strange, people did not able to estimate from where the fire was started, a village elder said.
The next day, the BGP personnel went to the spot and made inquiry from the locals and the fire victims and returned to their camp. But they ordered the fire victims to meet them later.
They did not get any support from any quarter except from locals, a local trader named Fazal said.
However, the fire victims were called to the BGP camp No.10 of Taung Bazar of Buthidaung Township and asked them to pay Kyat 600,000 per each to avoid arrest.
At last, on April 4, they paid Kyat 600,000 per each and were freed from arrest, a close relative of one of the victims said
KALADAN PRESS NETWORK 