Hired goons of land grabbers set 19 houses on fire
A woman cries in despair after a fire, set by hired goons of land grabbers, destroyed her house along with 18 others near Cox's Bazar bypass on Sunday. Photo: STAR
Nineteen houses on a disputed land were set on fire near Cox's Bazar bypass Sunday afternoon. Witnesses said a group of people, led by Akhteruzzaman and Asaduzzaman, sons of Abdul Hamid of Firingi Bazar in Chittagong city, set fire to the houses at Kolatali Adarsha Gram at around 3:00pm. They also beat up the members of the houses, leaving at least 20 injured. People from nearby areas rushed to spot and chased the gang, they added. Ten of the injured were admitted to Cox's Bazar Sadar Hospital and Chakoria Hospital while the rest given first aid. Safura Begum, 45, who lost her rented house to the fire, alleged that the criminals set fire to the houses in presence of police. Members of the two affected families, Khorshed Akhter, 34, and Hasina Begum, 47, said a group of people has been trying to grab the land for the last five years. “We rented the houses from two brothers--Didarul Alam Chowdhury and Saiful Alam Chowdhury- of Uttar Rumalichhara area in Cox's Bazar town and they are the real owners of the land,” they said. Saiful Alam Chowdhury said he rented out 19 house built on his 40-decimel land in the area. He also alleged that a gang of criminals set fire to the houses under the nose of police. Akhteruzzaman of Firingi Bazar in Chittagong city told journalists that he bought the land from one Khodeza begum of the area. He said when police came to help him take possession of the land, some people attacked the law enforcers. He denied the allegation of setting the houses on fire. Assistant Police Superintendent M Salahuddin said the houses were set on fire before the police reached the spot. He said two influential groups are trying to grab the land, claiming its ownership. Cox's Bazar town Awami League President Mujibur Rahman said the criminals set the houses on fire in presence of Sadar Police Station OC Prodip Das. They carried out an arson attack in a bid to grab the land worth about Tk one crore. OC Prodip Das denied the allegation, saying that two groups of local Awami League were involved in the incident.
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