Impunity in the hills essentially refers to a reality where influential individuals or armed groups face no legal or social consequences after committing crimes. Severe offenses such as murder, enforced disappearances, abduction, extortion, and violence against indigenous women. Kalpana Chakma’s (Hill Women’s Federation Activist) abduction in 11th June 1996 is one of those incident. Even after 30 years, justice has not been served for the abduction of Kalpana Chakma. Kalpana Chakma's mother passed away long ago, hoping for justice for her daughter. The hearing of Kalpana Chakma’s case has been postponed so many times. More than 37 Investigators of this case has been changed. This stands as a stark example of the injustice committed against minority communities in Bangladesh. In most cases, victims are too terrified to seek legal assistance due to a profound lack of security. Even those who muster the courage to resort to the law are eventually forced to surrender, worn down by prolonged legal delays, immense pressure from powerful entities, and a lack of supporting evidence.
Justice has still not been served in the rape and murder case of Krittika Tripura. On July 28, 2018, in the Noy Mile area of Dighinala upazila in Khagrachari, a 10-year-old child, Krittika Tripura Purna, was brutally murdered after being raped. The young girl had come home to eat during her school lunch break. It was then that she fell victim to this horrific assault and was killed. Although there were widespread protests and movements at the time regarding Krittika's rape and murder, justice remains elusive. It is not just Krittika Tripura; incidents of rape in the hills have become an almost everyday reality. And to this day, none of these cases have seen justice
Why do such incidents keep happening repeatedly? It is because the vast majority of heinous human rights violations that have occurred in the hills so far—such as rape and sexual violence—have never seen proper justice. The state only shows a semblance of action by arresting one or two individuals in the face of protests and mass movements. After that, everything stalls. On the contrary, victims' families are intimidated and threatened into withdrawing their cases. In many instances, the terrified family is forced to abandon their homestead and leave the area entirely. This creates an added advantage for the perpetrators, as they can then easily grab that abandoned land. Driven by this systemic lack of justice, violence against women in the hills continues to escalate day by day.
The
regional political organization of the hills, the Parbatya Chattagram Jhati
Samiti (PCJSS), has claimed that in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, 10 people were
killed and 9 individuals, including children, fell victim to rape over the
six-month period from January to June 2026.
Amid the political transition of 2024, persistent violence against the Jumma indigenous people underscores a lingering crisis of justice and safety in the hills. The roots of this culture of impunity are deeply embedded in the region, driven by several primary factors. At the absolute core of the conflict in the hills is land, and the customary land rights of the indigenous communities are frequently disregarded. Furthermore, while the CHT Peace Accord signed in 1997 was a historical milestone, many of its fundamental clauses—especially those regarding the operationalization of the Land Dispute Resolution Commission and the empowerment of local administration—remain unimplemented. This structural weakness provides a convenient loophole for criminals to escape justice. The situation is further complicated by clashes among regional political factions, struggles for control over extortion, and the broader Bengali-indigenous divide
Ordinary hill people and women are the most brutally crushed under this cycle of impunity. When violence occurs against indigenous women, linguistic, cultural, and social barriers often prevent them from easily accessing the judicial process. A lack of proper investigation and adequate witness protection allows perpetrators to easily slip through the cracks of the justice system. Consequently, this fosters a severe and deep-rooted distrust among the victims toward the state's legal framework
Breaking this cycle of impunity is absolutely imperative to restore lasting peace and harmony in the hills. Regardless of political affiliation or group identity, perpetrators must be swiftly brought to justice through impartial investigations and the strict establishment of the rule of law. The police, administration, and law enforcement agencies must play an unequivocally neutral role. The prolonged land disputes must also be permanently resolved through the full implementation of the CHT Peace Accord and by making the Land Commission immediately effective. Proactive initiatives must be taken to bridge the gap between the people of the hills and the plains, actively working to restore the indigenous people's trust in state institutions while ensuring legal aid for victims and robust protection for witnesses.
The administration, under the leadership of Tarique Rahman, has articulated a vision of cultivating a 'rainbow nation' and establishing a pluralistic framework that embraces diverse perspectives. Indigenous communities have always sought to live in harmony in this region. They desire to reside peacefully within Bangladesh and proudly represent their heritage on the global stage. No community ever wishes to abandon its own land. If they are ever forced to depart, it is only because they have become victims of circumstances.
