Bhabani gets back grabbed land

A poor farmer of Patgram upazila yesterday regained possession of his 32 decimals of land that had been grabbed nearly four years ago.

The ruling party men led by Bawra Union unit Awami League (AL) President Rabiul Islam Miron picked up Bhabani Kanta Sen, 47, and his sons Bidhan and Bidyut On February 9 in 2014. They also forced them to sign a non-judicial stamp, stating that the family was handing over ownership of the land to Miron.

The Daily Star published a story titled "Hindu's land grabbed by AL leader" on March 2 the same year. Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB) filed a writ petition with the High Court (HC) the same day, seeking arrest of the grabbers.

“If The Daily Star had not published the news and HRPB had not filed a writ petition with the HC, I could not have got back my land. I am grateful to them,” Bhabani said.

After hearing the petition on March 9 in 2014, the HC Bench asked the superintendent of police to arrest the culprits in 48 hours.

Police arrested two of the seven grabbers on March 11 and recovered the non-judicial stamp. Police pressed the charge sheet accusing seven people on October 14 the same year.

Sunil Chandra Sen, 48, of Rasulpur village said the incident will play a vital role in protecting the rights of religious minorities in the area.

Bawra Union Parishad Chairman Dulal Basuniya said Bhabani's victory sets an example so that nobody will dare to grab land or assets of the minority community in future.

“We just helped Bhabani to get justice,” HRPB President Advocate Manzil Murshid said.