The funeral prayer and burial of an elderly man have been held up in Sadullapur, Gaibandha, by a family dispute over the division of property. His daughter, Halima Begum, objected to the funeral, alleging that she had not received her rightful share of her father’s property. The body of Nazir Uddin Bepari, a farmer of 75, was left lying in the yard of the house.
The funeral had been set for 10am on Monday, but the body lay in the yard for five hours, until 3pm. The incident has caused a stir in the area.
Nazir Uddin lived at Boalidaha village in ward 5 of Dhaperhat union in Sadullapur upazila. He was a farmer by occupation. He had a son, Idris Ali, 48, and a daughter, Halima, 50. He died of old-age complications at about 3pm on Sunday.
Family and local sources said Nazir Uddin registered his property in his son’s name during his lifetime. When the funeral was set for 10am on Monday, relatives and neighbours gathered at the house. Halima then blocked the funeral over the dispute about the property.
Halima Begum alleges that her brother, Idris Ali, took advantage of their father’s illness to have all the property written over to himself. She said she would not let her father’s funeral take place until she was given her share of one bigha of land.
Idris Ali, for his part, maintains that his father signed the land over to him of his own free will. He also maintains that his sister has no share in that property.
Local people who had come for the funeral tried to bring about a settlement, without success. As a result Nazir Uddin’s body lay in the yard until 3pm on Monday.
Md Shahidul Islam Shipon, chairman of Dhaperhat union parishad, said the incident was sad. A local initiative was taken to settle the dispute and arrange the funeral and burial quickly. It was later decided that an attempt would be made to resolve the property dispute after the burial.
Inspector Estekhar Hasan, in charge of the Dhaperhat investigation centre, said a man had come to the centre with a verbal complaint about the matter. He was asked for a written complaint and did not come back.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report