Rights group protest harassment of vested property claimers

Rights activists today threatened to wage a movement if the government does not intervene to stop the impediments to the legal procedure and harassment suffered by vested property claimers.

Alleging negligence of the administration, Arpito Sampatti Protirodh Andolan (Vested Property Resistance Movement) demanded hassle free path for claimers of the vested assets.

"The administration is illegally harassing the minority community who are claiming their assets lost under the vested property act," alleged Subrata Chowdhury, general secretary of the platform.

"They are dilly-dallying in the legal procedures and harassing the claimers of vested property," he alleged. "If the government does not move in to stop this, we will go for a movement."

Referring to a circular issued in this regard in April this year, Subrata said: "This is hurdling to disposal of the trials related to vested property reclamation. This circular has to be cancelled."

The demand was placed at a press conference arranged at Dhaka Reporters Unity this noon.

Sultana Kamal, a prominent rights activist who was present at the conference, claimed that the government has been able to complete trials of only 30 percent of the cases relating to vested property.

"The prime minister herself has expressed her goodwill to dispose of these cases. But even then, the administration is impeding the trials. We condemn this and protest this."

Among others present in the press conference were Kamal Lohani, chief of Arpito Sampatti Protirodh Andolan, Advocate Rana Dasgupta, general secretary of Hindu-Boudhha-Christian Oikya Parishad and Tobarok Hossain, vice president of Sammilito Samajik Andolan.

On this note, Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam told The Daily Star the government has not received any complaint of harassment by the claimers. He suggested that the group take matters up to the land ministry.