Alliance claims finding evidence MP Dabirul forcibly occupied land

Evidence of forcibly occupying land has been found against Thakurgaon MP Dabirul Islam during investigation, an alliance of nine organisations has claimed.

The alliance, National Citizen Coordination Cell for Enforcement of Vested Property Return Act, convened a press conference at National Press Club on Friday, where the ‘Investigation report’ was released.

Last year, Awami League MP Dabirul Islam was accused of grabbing land belonging to some Hindu families at Thakurgaon’s Baliadangi Upazila bordering India.

He had then accused media of publishing ‘provocative’ news and had blamed former water resources minister Ramesh Chandra Sen for it.

Reading out the summary of the report at the press conference alliance’s General Secretary Subrata Chowdhury said, “At least 30 henchmen led by the MP’s son attacked a Hindu family on June 19.”

“After the attack, Akulchandra fled to India with his family. Eight to ten people including some women were injured in the attack,” he said.

Chowdhury claimed that the police and local authorities did not take any action against the attack, torture and land grabbing.

He also said that Thakurgaon-2 MP Dabirul had set up a tea garden in the bordering areas of Baliadangi upazila.

Akulchandra’s one-bigha of land, which is the apple of discord, acts as a corridor to access tea gardens and residential plots of some ten Hindu families.

The coordination cell claimed it had found the evidence during an investigation conducted at Baliadangi on Nov 24 and 25 last year.

Chowdhury said they had received complaints against the MP’s son Mazharul Islam of coercing the Hindu families to sell their land.

Ain o Shalish Kendra (ASK), Vested Property Return Act Movement, ALRD, Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and six other organizations are part of the coordination cell.

The former caretaker government’s adviser and ASK’s executive director Sultana Kamal accused several MPs, including Dabirul, and ministers of forcibly occupying lands of minority groups at difference areas of Bangladesh.

"Attacks on weaker sections of the society and religious minorities seem to have become regular instances,” Sultana Kamal said.