DHAKA, April 20 (IANS): Minority Hindus of Mothbaria sub-district in Bangladesh's Pirojpur district have alleged that ruling Awami League activists backed by the party's lawmaker were trying to grab nearly 200 acres of their land.
"They're grabbing the land of anyone who is leaving for India," Shamol Chandra Haldar of Dakkhin Sonakhali village told media on Monday. He also alleged that two families had already left Bangladesh and many more were making preparations.
Shankar Mitra, speaking on behalf of 100 Hindu families living in the sub-district, alleged that Mujibur Rahman Sayed, who is father of former central Chhatra League (Awami League's student wing) leader Ashrafur Rahman, along with his associates had been trying to grab land owned by the religious minorities.
Mitra claimed that this group of people had set fire to their shops and harassed women, bdnews24.com newspaper web site reported. He alleged that Sayed attacked his home on April 1 in order to grab his land and injured his brother Subhash.
Haldar alleged that the reason behind the violence was to grab nearly 500 bighas (199.9 acres) of land owned by the families. "There has been no action from the local administration or (MP) Anwar Hossain," Haldar said.
Hossain told the bdnews24.com: "Neither the BCL leader nor his father is involved in such matters." He alleged that Mitra was a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) activist and that the allegations were made "to create instability within the community".
BNP is the country's main opposition led by former prime minister Khaleda Zia.
Mothbaria police chief Nurul Haque said the police were investigating one incident of violence in the village, but that no cases of arson or violence against women had been filed.
Loss of property by Hindus, the largest minority, is a recurring phenomenon in Bangladesh since India's partition in 1947.
