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Published : 17 Mar 2026, 03:02 PM
A gold trader named Bijoy Kuri has allegedly been kidnapped over a land dispute in Lakshmipur’s Sadar Upazila.
Bijoy is the president of the Mandari Bazar unit of the Bangladesh Jewellers Association (BJA) and owner of “Seema Shilpalaya”.
The BJA Lakshmipur unit conducted a human chain demonstration on Tuesday to protest the incident and demand his rescue.
Lakshmipur BJA President Sameer Karmakar demanded his rescue within the next 12 hours. The jewel traders have closed all gold shops in Mandari Bazar to press for their demand.
Sameer said, “Gold trader Bijoy has been kidnapped. We strongly protest this incident. We want Bijoy’s release within the next 12 hours.”
Bijoy’s son alleged that he was beaten and abducted by his neighbours Ujjwal Chandra Das and Ganesh Das in an autorickshaw from his house in the Malaka Bari area of Mandari Bazar on Monday night.
Bijoy is also the assistant campaign secretary of the Lakshmipur Puja Udjapan Parishad. Ujjwal and Ganesh, who have been accused of kidnapping, are daily wage labourers.
Locals say there had been an ongoing land dispute between Bijoy and the two for about a year. Recently, they approached Shahid Uddin Chowdhury Anee, Lakshmipur-3 MP and BNP joint secretary general, to resolve the matter. He assigned the responsibility to leaders in the local Hindu community.
The Hindu leaders said the matter would be discussed and arbitrated after the Eid holidays. Meanwhile, Ujjwal and his associates constructed a house on the disputed land, leading to a clash between the two sides. As least seven people were injured in the incident. Bijoy was allegedly kidnapped from the scene of the confrontation.
Bijoy's son Piklu said, "Ujjwal Chandra Das and Ganesh Chandra Das brought people to our land and 'forcefully' built a house in the dark of the night. Upon hearing the news, we went to the spot and uprooted the poles of the house. Then they beat me, my father and brother, and injured us.”
“At one point, they dragged my father into a CNG-run autorickshaw and left. We can’t find him anywhere. He has been kidnapped.”
Ujjwal and Ganesh were not available at their homes when bdnews24.com tried to contact them for comment. However, Ganesh’s wife Pratima Rani Das spoke to bdnews24.com.
Pratima said, “In 2019, we bought around seven decimals of land from one Abul Kalam. Bijoy has been hatching a scheme to grab that land. On Monday afternoon, we erected a room on that land.”
“Bijoy and his sons brought a group of people at night and tore down the house. When we tried to block them, they beat us indiscriminately. Bijoy is staging a kidnapping after going into hiding. We know nothing about it.”
Shimul Saha, president of Bangladesh Jubo Oikya Parishad, and Manik Saha, secretary of the Lakshmipur committee of the Hindu Buddhist Christian Welfare Front, visited the scene.
Shimul Saha said, “We have spoken to both sides. We demand that Bijoy Kuri be rescued, a fair investigation be conducted and legal action be taken.”
When asked, Chandraganj Police Station chief Morshed Alam said they had heard about the incident, but have yet to receive a formal complaint in writing. If a complaint is received, legal action will be taken immediately, subject to investigation, he said.
