Sat, Sep 12th, 2009 12:49 pm BdST
Dhaka , Sept 11 (bdnews24.com)—A local Awami League leader faces allegations of abetting a gang in their bid to illegally occupy property spread over 32 kathas of land from 11 families in Sutrapur, old Dhaka.
Locals allege Nizam Uddin, president of Awami League's local chapter, sheltered the armed criminals who damaged an idol at a Shiva Temple and fired weapons into the air to spread fear and grab the land on Friday morning.
Police in Sutrapur, a predominantly Hindu area, say the current residents were living there illegally but the families say the police claim is "mysterious", and four families who used to live in the area were allegedly forced to leave at gunpoint earlier this year.
According to witnesses, on Friday morning, some eight to ten armed men went to the Bhushipur area of RM Das Road, behind Sutrapur Police Station, to move in on the property comprising plots 88, 96 and 98, ordering the families to leave.
At one stage, local residents gathered and gave chase to the gang, who then fired their weapons into the air and took shelter to Sutrapur Police Station. The locals crowded in front of the police station and asked the police to arrest the gunmen.
People of the area allege four Hindu families living on the land were evicted in March with the help of police and backed by Nizam Uddin, who heads AL's Dhaka city Ward 80 chapter. The gang now threatening the remaining 11 families to leave the place were Nizam's men, they claim.
Monsur Miah, a local resident, told bdnews24.com since land owner Jagadish Taraknath had migrated to India in 1947 after the partition, his relatives have been living there.
"A total of 15 families had been living on the 32 kathas," Miah said.
Md Tareq, another local resident, said the criminals were attempting to grab the property abetted by AL leader Nizam Uddin and police.
Chanchal Roy, general secretary of Shiva Temple, said: "I know those who broke the idol." But he did not disclose any names.
Asad Mahmud, who claims the land, says he is the owner of the land on a 'conditional agreement'. He said he bought the land a year ago from a man named Amir Ali Jamal but did not take possession yet.
He also said they later enclosed the land by erecting a boundary wall following a court verdict in favour of their legal ownership.
Regarding Friday's incidents, he told bdnews24.com, "There is no question of grabbing the land. We can take possession of our land at any time.
"The Hindu families have erected idols on our land. We went there to protest their move and request them to leave our land."
Nizam, the accused AL president of Ward 80, after hours of negotiations at Sutrapur Police Station spoke to bdnews24.com at around Friday midnight. He said, according to the negotiations, the two parties would keep to their respective places till Durga Puja at the end of September.
"The next decision will be made in another meeting after the puja," he said.
Regarding the land-grab allegations, Nizam said he was not linked to the incident at all.
"The officer-in-charge called me the police station to attend the meeting as this is a ward issue. That's why I attended the meeting," he said.
Asked about the incidents, Sutrapur police chief Tofazzal Hossain said those who took shelter at his police station were not criminals.
He said Asad Mahmud is the legal landowner, not the Hindu families.
"Asad Mahmud's people would have been killed by the mob if they did not take shelter at the police station." Hossain said the armed men were in possession of legal arms.
bdnews24.com/gma/zr/su/rah/1255h
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