Watermelon field destroyed because of land dispute
SAVAGE VENGEANGE! Mother and wife of farmer Anwar Hossain Mollah lament in despair as criminals allegedly led by a local union parishad member destroyed their watermelon field in Golkhali union under Galachipa upazila of Patuakhali district by what they said spraying poison on Saturday night.Photo: STAR
Criminals damaged watermelon worth Tk 3 lakh on one acre of land in Galachipa upazila early Sunday. A case was filed with Galachipa police station accusing three people including Mostafa Matobbar, member of Golkhali union parishad in the upazila. Victim Anwar Hossain Mollah alleged that he cultivated the fruit on the land beside his house taking lease from a local man this year. “I went to the land at about 2:00am and found a gang of 7/8 led by Mostafa spraying some poisonous liquid. They fled the spot hurriedly, sensing my presence. The following day, the seedlings started dying”, he said. The victim said he borrowed Tk 70, 000 from a local NGO to cultivate watermelon. “How will I repay the loan now?”, he posed. Earlier, the UP chairman threatened to destroy the field following an altercation over a piece of disputed land, said Anwar. Begum Bibi, 65, mother of the victim, broke into tears and said, the incident shattered their all dreams. An official at upazila agriculture office said they sent the sample of the liquid to Dhaka for test to confirm whether it was poison or else. Golam Ghous Talukder alias Nipu Talukder, Golkhali UP chairman, confirmed that Anwar and Mostafa had a land dispute. The accused was not available for comment despite several attempts to contact him over cell phone. Ziaul Haque, officer in-charge of the PS, said punitive action would be taken against those responsible for the offence after investigating the case.
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