BNP musclemen oust RHD staff from quarters

At least 70 musclemen of the BNP leaders attacked and ransacked houses of Abdul Matin, Hanif Miah and another unidentified staff at Kachari Bazar on Station Road of the town at midnight on January 9, sources said. The BNP leaders are Al-haj Abu Taher Miah, also chairman of Kishoreganj Pourasabha, his nephew Kamrul Hasan, Oshim Sarkar Badhon, general secretary of Kishoreganj Art Academy and Khaled Saifullah Sohel.

Abdul Matin's wife Zakia Sultana prayed for time at least for a day to shift their belongings but the musclemen forced them to take shelter at nearby houses.

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Victims complained that police did not come to their aid although a police station is situated only 100 yards of the spot. Hundreds of people watched the incident silently for about three hours but none dared to resist it for fear of reprisal by the BNP leaders, they said.

When contacted, Pourasabha chairman Al-Haj Abu Taher Miah told this correspondent he along with five others purchased 11 decimals of land worth about Tk 2 crore. 'As we have valid documents, we took possession of it,' he said.

BNP leader Khaled Saifullah Shohel said, 'We shall build a modern business centre on our land.' RHD has many vacant quarters to shelter the ousted RHD employees, he said.

On contact, RHD executive engineer Md Joynal Abedin who took over only 10 days ago told journalists he informed the matter to the Deputy Commissioner (DC) and the Superintendent of Police (SP).

Kishoreganj DC CM Yusuf Hossain told journalists he had advised the executive engineer to inform the issue to the authorities when the RHD staff were asked to quit their quarters a day before the attack.

Kishoreganj SP Mallik Fakrul Islam said the Poura chairman informed him that he would take possession of the land. 'The employees agreed to leave the place, the chairman told', the SP said.

RHD Section Officer Mujibur Rahman Khan said the employees were living there since 1960. He filed a general diary (GD) with Kishoreganj Police Station immediately after the threat of BNP leaders.

A case was filed with Kishoreganj Police Station without naming the attackers, police said. Additional police forces have been deployed on the spot.