Raffle draw ticket seller murdered in Dinajpur
Park vandalised in Tangail
Infuriated over not allowing entrance without tickets, a group of unruly people from adjacent villages vandalised the main gate, ticket counter, fence and several sculptures of Soul Park at Gharinda near Tangail town yesterday.Photo: STAR
A ticket seller of an illegal raffle draw was murdered at Cheradangi Mela (fair) under Dinajpur Sadar upazila early yesterday. The dead is Minnat Ali, 35, son of Foyez Uddin of South Sadipur village in the upazila. Away in Tangail, a group of people vandalised an entertainment park in Gharinda area near the town yesterday as they were not allowed to enter the park without ticket on Friday evening. According to our Dinajpur correspondent, police went to Cheradangi Mela, about 5 km from Sadar police station yesterday morning, recovered the body of ticket seller Minnat and sent it Dinajpur Medical College and Hospital for autopsy. They (police) said ticket seller Minnat might have been killed by the orgainisers of the raffle draw following an altercation over the proceeds. They also picked up eight people from mela area for interrogation. Police said Minnat had been staying in a makeshift room behind the stage of the raffle draw since the opening of the fair on February 5. His body with throat slit was found near the room, they added. Raffle draw organisers Robiul Islam Robu and Rezaul Islam Ronju have gone into hiding soon after the incident. Mostafa Kamal and Ashikul Islam Babu, president and general secretary of Cheradangi Mela Committee, said they knew nothing about the raffle draw at the fair which ended yesterday. Cheradangi Mela is held on a land owned by Cheradangi High School every year. The school authorities allow the organisers to hold the fair in exchange for money. The academic activities of the school remain suspended until end of the fair. District Education Office (DEO) Md Enayed Hossain told this correspondent that the school authorities had suspended academic activities without taking prior permission from him. Locals alleged that power connection of the mela was illegal and the several clashes took place at the venue over arranging obscene dances. Contacted, Deputy Commissioner Md Jamal Uddin Ahmed said no permission for raffle at Cheradangi Mela was given to its organisers. Our Tangail correspondent reported that a group of people vandalised an entertainment park in Gharinda area near Tangail town yesterday. Shamim-al-Mamun, manager of Soul Park, lodged a complaint with Tangail Model Police Station, saying that around 150 people of adjacent villages stormed into park at around 11:00am, damaged its main gate, ticket counter, several sculptures and uprooted fences around the park. The villagers launched the attack as some of them were not allowed to enjoy a concert inside the park without ticket on Friday evening, the manager alleged. Locals, however, claimed that some influential people of Tangail town had established the park on a railway land adjacent to Gharinda Railway Station a few years ago and made it a den of anti-social activities. Sub-inspector (SI) Mohammad Nasir Uddin of Tangail Model Police Station said legal steps will be taken against the persons involved after proper investigation.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments