<i>She liberated Niklee but cannot free her land from grabbers</i>
Valiant freedom fighter Sakina Begum alias Khotki Begum, along with others, freed Niklee upazila from Pakistani occupation forces but she can not free only three decimal khas land given to her from encroachers. The land was allotted to her in 2001.
Her husband had her during the war as she participated in the fight to liberate the country. She became landless as her father Shunaffor Mia sold all his lands in their Gurui village in the upazila.
Sskina Begum was the lone woman freedom fighter in the battalion led by Motiur Rahman Beer Bikram which fought at Setra haor and liberated Niklee upazila on October 19, 1971.
Motiur Rahman Beer Bikram of Bonikhati village in Niklee Sadar said, during the war Sakina fought with a billhook, which is now preserved at the Mukti Joddha Jadughor in Dhaka. She killed five Rajakars in guerrilla fights in the upazila and was a terror to the collaborators of occupation forces. Mukti Joddha Jadughar took her lethal weapon (article no. 829) on October 9, 1999 to preserve it, he said.
Sakina was given three decimal khas (government) land at Gurui union in 2001 but grabbers dislodged her from the land and lodged two cases with Kishoreganj courts claiming ownership of the land.
When contacted, union land official Bipul Deb Nath said, the government gave the khas land to freedom fighter Sakina and also handed over documents. But later influential neighbors evicted her and filed two civil law suits.
Bipul Deb Nath said, verdict of the case went in favour of Sakina. “I am waiting for another decree which will hopefully go in her favour”.
She has no source of earning except Tk 500 government allowance as a freedom fighter.
Asked about her condition, Sakina said, she is too old and weak to work and as a freedom fighter she can not beg even.
Dhaka Central Muktijuddha Sangsad and Muktijuddah Museum gave her certificates and crests as recognition of her valiant role during the Liberation War.
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