Allegations of land grabbing, extortion, vandalism of homes, looting and arson — carried out using the name of the district BNP president — have been raised against Sajjad Hossain Palash in Garabaria village of Gangni upazila in Meherpur. Victims claimed at a press conference that Palash is also an accused in a case filed over an earlier road incident in which three people were killed when a microbus ran them over, and that he is alleged to be involved in online gambling in the area.
The allegations were made by local BNP worker Majidul Islam and his brother Mahirul Islam at a press conference held in Garabaria village of Gangni upazila on Friday afternoon, June 19.
In a written statement, they alleged that Sajjad Hossain Palash was exerting influence in the area using the name of Meherpur district BNP president Javed Masud Milton. They accused him of various wrongdoing, including grabbing land through intimidation, demanding extortion money, threatening attacks and lawsuits, and extracting money in the name of arbitration. They claimed ordinary people in the area had been driven to distress by these activities.
The victims also said that about five years ago they had bought 16.5 decimals of land from Md Siddiqur Rahman, a former general secretary of the district Jamaat, where they built a home and planted various trees. Despite having valid documents and records for the land, they alleged, Sajjad Hossain Palash demanded 500,000 taka in extortion money from them. When they refused to pay, they claimed, the rival side — including Maklechur Rahman, Abul Kalam and their associates — attacked the land, vandalised the house, looted belongings, set fire and forcibly seized it. They said this caused them losses of about 500,000 to 700,000 taka.
A case has been filed over the incident at a Meherpur court. The victims also alleged they were being threatened in various ways to withdraw the case after filing it. Claiming that they and their families were now in extreme insecurity, they sought urgent intervention by the administration.
Denying the allegations, however, Sajjad Hossain Palash said all the allegations against him were entirely false, baseless and motivated. He also claimed the allegation that he was exerting influence using the district BNP president’s name was untrue.
On the matter, Meherpur district BNP president Javed Masud Milton said: ‘The BNP has nothing to do with any unethical activity. If any individual personally commits any wrongdoing, the party will not bear the responsibility; the person concerned must bear it.’
Meanwhile, Gangni police have arrested two people in the case filed over the arson, vandalism and looting of the home. The top accused in the case are Maklechur Rahman, son of Abu Taleb of the village, and Abul Kalam, son of Chan Bishwas of the same village. Both are in jail custody. Muhaddid Morshed, the officer-in-charge (OC) of Gangni police station, said a case had been filed over the incident. The two had been arrested and sent to court, which sent them to jail custody, he said. To maintain law and order, both sides had been instructed to abide by the law.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report