A human chain was held in Rangamati today, demanding justice for the abduction of Kalpana Chakma and immediate steps to implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord.

The programme was organised by the Rangamati district committee of the Hill Women's Federation at around 10:00am on the premises of the Rangamati Deputy Commissioner's Office.

Addressing the gathering, Mranu Ching Marma, general secretary of the federation's central committee, alleged that women in the Chittagong Hill Tracts were not safe and that sexual violence continued to affect women of all ages.

"Kalpana Chakma fought for the rights of the Jumma people. Thirty years have passed since her abduction, but the government has been unable to do anything about it. We are being subjected to oppression because the Jumma people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts are not being given the right to self-determination," she said.

Lawyer Dipan Chakma said the case had been investigated at different stages before being dismissed by the Senior Judicial Magistrate Court in Rangamati on April 23, 2024.

Kalpana Chakma's brothers, Kalindi Chakma and Lal Bihari Chakma, were also abducted on the same day and had clearly seen those responsible, he added.

"We, the victims' lawyers, have filed a revision petition. We will demand that the revision be accepted and that the case be investigated again," he said.

Writer and educationist Shishir Kanti Chakma said people in the hill region did not believe the case had been dismissed because the accused could not be identified.

"If the Tonu murder case can be investigated and an arrest warrant issued after a long time, why cannot the Kalpana Chakma abduction case be tried?" he asked.

Kalpana Chakma, organising secretary of the Hill Women's Federation, an affiliate of the Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samghati Samiti, was abducted from her home in Lalyaghona village of Baghaichhari upazila in Rangamati in the early hours of June 12, 1996.