“They are identified as Fazal Ahmed (35), son of Jaffar, Mohamed Salim (36), son of Kala and Mohamed Salay (40), son of Sayed Azim. They all hail from Nari Bill village of Maungdaw Township.”

“The carpenters were summoned by a Nasaka officer of Nari Bill out-post camp on August 15, and asked to build a bridge (small bridge across the safarddin stream) with wood. So the carpenters have been building the bridge till September 15. After that they took casual leave from the Nasaka as there was shortage of wood to build the bridge which was supplied by the Nasaka and gave Kyat 30,000 per head per month as salary.”

“While the carpenters taking rest at their homes and doing other works at the village to support their family members, a group of Nasaka from Nari Bill camp, on October 4,  went to the village and arrested all three carpenters over allegation that they took away some wood,  timber planks and log from the bridge construction site. After arrest, they were brought to the camp and brutally tortured while in detained.”

According to a village elder, some of the timber planks and Belaili were carried away by the water current and heavy rain. But the arrestees are innocent.

One of the carpenters said, “We do not know about the theft of timber planks and Belaili. But, we are arrested and tortured severely by the Nasaka after they forcibly accused us involving in the matter without getting any document.”

However, they were released on October 6, after paying Kyat 60,000 per each. All the money that they had earned from building bridge was gone to the pocket of the Nasaka, said another carpenter.

“During the confinement, we were placed with cigarettes fire to our private organs,” said one of the arrestees.