Thus they excercise political muscle

The incident took place at Chadpur village in Kumarkhali upazila recently.

A case has been filed against the BNP leader but police are yet to arrest him, villagers told some newsmen who visited the spot on October 23.

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When contacted, police said they are trying to arrest him.

According to police and villagers, Nazrul Islam was the main witness in a case against local BNP leader Abdur Rahim.

The case was filed by one Mokaddes Ali of the village with Kumarkhali police on October 14 accusing Rahim and his 15 accomplices for attacking his house and beating his family members over a previous feud.

Nazrul Islam was present during the attack.

Rahim threatened him not to be a witness in the case.

"Despite Rahim's threats of dire consequence, I went to police and told them what had happened", Nazrul told the newsen.

"This angered Rahim", Nazrul added.

On October 21, Rahim and his accomplices torched Nazrul's house at about 11 am in presence of villagers and drove his family out of the village.

Some villagers seeking anonymity said Rahim is involved in criminal activities in the area, but none dares to protest as he belongs to the ruling party is a close associate of notorious killer and regional leader of outlawed New Bipplobi Communist Party (NBCP) Akdil Hossain.

Local Awami League held a rally at Kumarkhali upazila headquarters protesting the incident and police inaction.

Local AL leaders Zahid Hossain Zafar, Abdul Mannan, Alhaj Sadar Uddin Khan, Nandalalpur UP Chairman Nawser Ali and Biswait Kundu addressed the rally.