10 wounded as land grabbers attack forest officials, police

At least 10 people, including a policeman and two women, were injured as land grabbers locked in a clash with forest officials and police during an eviction drive in the district's Nawabganj upazila yesterday.

Acting on information that some land grabbers were building concrete houses in the forest in Burimandap area after felling trees, a joint team of police and forest officials launched the drive around 12:30pm.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

At one stage, the land grabbers and their hired goons, numbering around 100, attacked the law enforcers and forest officials.

The attackers were carrying bamboo sticks and sharp weapons.

Chase and counter chase took place between the land grabbers and law enforcers.

Police said Masud Rana, son of Abdur Rahim of Haripur village, was behind the grabbing of land.

Bazlur Rashid, upazila nirbahi officer of Nawabganj, and ASM Hafizur Rahman, assistant superintendent (Birampur circle) of police, reached the spot with additional policemen and brought the situation under control.

Later, forest officials demolished the illegal structures in Burimandap.

The injured are Inspector of Nawabganj Police Station Abdul Hakim, forest officials Rafiquzzaman, Anjibul Amin, Nishikanta Malakar and Golam Ali, forest guard Mozaffar Hossain, villagers Kinaram Barman, Faraz Uddin, Shilpi and Khadiza Begum.

Inspector Hakim was sent to M Abdur Rahim Medical College Hospital in Dinajpur while the other injured received treatment at Nawabganj Upazila Health Complex.

Dr Sirajul Islam of the upazila health complex said the inspector was badly injured.