A group of Islamists, belonging to the ruling Awami League (AL) party, have grabbed 8 acres of land belonging to a Hindu family in Parulia village in Hatibandha upazila of Bangladesh.
As per a report by The Daily Star, the land grabbers include AL leaders Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed. Hafizul and Abul serve as the Patikpara Union Ward No.4 President and General Secretary respectively.
The victims, identified as Rathindra Nath Roy and his wife Sushila Rani, had filed a complaint with the local police but no action has been taken in this regard. They have accused the four land grabbers and their supporters of threatening them with dire consequences if they visited their own land.
Islamists assaulted the victims
He informed The Daily Star that large tracts of his ancestral land were lost due to erosion by the Teesta River about 40-45 years ago. But about 10 years ago, a char land was developed in the same place after a huge landmass emerged from the riverbed.
Following that, Rathindra Nath Roy had been growing crops on the remaining land. On 13th November this year, Hafizul Islam, Abul Kalam, Hazrat Ali and Redwan Ahmed went to the field where the Hindu man and his wife were sowing maize seeds.
They claimed to be the owners of the land and beat up the Hindu couple mercilessly. According to Sushila Rani, the accused men are coercing Rathindra to sign a non-judicial stamp paper, stating change of ownership from him to the 4 Islamists.
Accused men cite ‘conflicting’ land deal, police take no action
When The Daily Star reached out to land grabber Abul Kalam, he claimed to have purchased 8 acres land along with 3 other accused for Tk 80 lakh (~ ₹60.39 lakhs). Another land grabber Hazrat Ali claimed that the land had been bought for Tk 87 (~₹65.67 lakhs).
They claimed that since the land registry was not done in Char areas, they were asking the Hindu family to sign on non-judicial stamp.
While speaking about police inaction to The Daily Star, Officer-in-Charge (Hatibandha Police Station) Shah Alam acknowledged that he had received a complaint from Rathindra Nath Roy but instead asked the local UP Chairman to ‘resolve’ the issue locally.
Hindu families forced to sell their houses in Shailkupa
Ahead of the upcoming elections in Bangladesh, the Hindu community is facing the wrath of political violence. Several Hindu families have been forced to vacate their houses in Shailkupa upazila in the Khulna division of Bangladesh and sell them at giveaway prices to avoid religious persecution.
As per a report by Kalbela News published in November this year, the minority community is facing threats from Islamists and hence many Hindu families are migrating to other parts of the country. For instance, the residence of a deceased Hindu man named Satyendranath Saha was encroached and a 4-storeyed building was constructed in its place.
‘Jubo League’ Chairman (Shailkupa upazila) Shamim Hossain Mollah and his father Sabdar Hossain Mollah were accused of infringing upon the property of the Hindu family. It must be mentioned that the ‘Jubo League’ is the youth wing of the ruling Sheikh Hasina-led-Bangladesh Awami League party.
While speaking about the matter, the daughter-in-law of Satyendranath Saha informed that the ‘Jubo League’ leader had taken their house and a Kali Mandir by force. Despite complaints to the local MP Mohammed Abdul Hyee, no action has been taken against the accused.
Interestingly, Hyee is also a leader of the Bangladesh Awami League party from the Jhenaidah constituency. According to Kalbela News, the case of Satyendranath Saha is one of the countless stories of minority Hindu families who have lost their property to encroachment by local influential Muslim leaders.
Everyone involved in this organised form of ‘land jihad’ are politicians and political workers. In order to intimidate the Hindu residents of Shailkupa into selling their homes, the Islamists have resorted to threats, assault and even vandalism of Hindu temples.
